24
by steelguardsexual
Summary: After obtaining his only chance to return to Pulse, Balthier soon discovers that he must make a choice before time runs out: lose everything, or let the beast within rise once more. Sequel to Bad Bromance.
1. Cache of Glabados

**Author's Note:** _Woot, we're already at the final part of my FF12/FF13 trilogy. I didn't expect to even write out this story, but I felt like __**Bad Bromance**__ left off at a some-what cliffhanger._

_I dedicate this first chapter to __**Joshua Chung**__ and __**The Giant Daifuku**__. You guys are amazingggg!_

_As I mentioned in the preview Balthier is back to being the main character, and Lightning acts as narrator. So, don't get confused when you see her narrating when she's not actually there...xD_

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Chapter One

Cache of Glabados

_There's always a time where you begin to doubt yourself, even when you think all will turn out well._

"Okay, so you sent Ashe a letter, telling me to come with you to some place called Bervenia. When are you going to tell me what you're planning, Balthier?"

Balthier sighed heavily, turning around to face Snow's persistent expression. The man had been pestering him non-stop since they were reunited, and since Fran had gone off to gather up last minute supplies she wasn't there to help him out. He was beginning to think that it was the wrong idea to invite Snow along for their journey to Bervenia. But, Fran insisted that it would have been wrong to leave him behind.

"If I told you now, you'd leave," the sky pirate answered, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked down the hallway of the _Strahl_. "As soon as we're off, perhaps I'll rethink telling you of our destination."

Snow followed him, eager as always. "You like your secrets, don't you?"

"And you seem to enjoy asking me pointless questions."

The blond took that as the end of their conversation, and followed Balthier into the cockpit of the _Strahl_. He took his seat behind the pilot's chair, watching as the sky pirate hesitantly put Lightning's necklace on. For a moment he closed his eyes and touched the charm, sighing quietly when he opened his eyes and looked toward the sky above their heads.

Two years. It had been two years since he had left Cocoon and Pulse, two years since he'd seen Lightning. To be honest, he had spent hours on end thinking of her whenever he had the chance. When she noticed, Fran would often ask him if he missed the female soldier, but never did he answer her. His past in the other world...was a subject he preferred not to speak of.

The past was the past; meant to be cast aside and forgotten. There were times when Balthier would find himself wondering if anything would have changed in the other world if he hadn't been there, much like Snow's presence in Ivalice only changed one thing.

Ragnarok, though it had been tamed by an unknown force, was still in existence. The year he and Fran were 'dead', he noticed that the beast rarely threatened to show through. He'd lost his temper a few times, to be sure, but every time something would hold Ragnarok back; something that Balthier had no control over. Whatever it was, it seemed to be helping.

Having Lightning's necklace again was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Snow had kept it since the day the _Bahamut_ crashed outside Rabanastre, and he had returned it to its 'rightful owner' as soon as he'd arrived in the aerodrome. Balthier was glad to have it back, feeling as if it was the only connection to Lightning he had left.

As well as not making any appearances in Ivalice, Ragnarok seemed to have given up on trying to force the woman to forget Balthier in her dreams. That, or it had succeeded and Balthier was only trying to convince himself otherwise. He preferred the first option, of course.

"You are daydreaming again, my partner," Fran said as she sauntered into the cockpit. She held a small bag in her hands, and nodded once to Snow when she walked past him. "The necklace. It calms you?"

"Did you find everything we're going to need?" Balthier asked her, ignoring her question when he sat down in his seat.

"I did. Penelo asked me to give this to you, as a parting gift." She held out something to him; a pink rose crystal. Automatically he took it in his hands, smirking the slightest bit. How had the dancer known? If he remembered correctly, he never mentioned anything to her about the rose crystal he'd seen many a time in Cocoon...

Snow peered over the seat, fighting back the urge to laugh. "That would be my fault, Balthier," he stated. "I may have told Penelo that Lightning had a crystal just like it. Thought you'd like to have it."

"She found one for you as well, Snow," Fran said, holding out a blue teardrop crystal to him. He took it and looked at it, smiling faintly. "Is there something I do not understand about these crystals?"

"L'Cie used them to summon their Eidolons," Balthier explained, putting the rose crystal in one of the pouches on his belt. "Creatures much like our espers, actually. Their magick is not like our own, unfortunately."

Fran only raised an eyebrow in questioning, then set the pack of supplies in the seat beside Snow. As soon as she was sitting down in her co-pilot seat, Balthier wasted no time in piloting the _Strahl_ out of the aerodrome. His hands grew tense as he looked down at the city one final time before turning his eyes toward the endless sky before him. Behind him, Snow stood up and leaned against the back of the pilot's seat.

"Visited the queen as of late, Ice?" Balthier asked. "Of course you must have. How else could she have given you my letter?"

"Ashe was glad to have her ring back," Snow replied, his eyes boredly staring at the clouds as they passed by. "I mean, not as glad as she was to know that you were alive. Why _did_ you disappear for a year, anyway?"

Fran was smirking, or at least that was what it seemed like. "You will understand," she said. "Balthier does not plan to leave you in the dark for much longer."

"Is this some plot to turn me pirate, or something?"

"You'd be a terrible sky pirate," Balthier murmured. "You don't even know how to properly use a gun."

"Just because I almost shot my foot off when I borrowed Sazh's guns that one time doesn't mean I'm a terrible gunner _now_."

"He denies much," the viera stated, carefully eying something on the map she held.

Balthier shrugged his shoulders. "A common trait among heroes."

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After setting the ship on automatic pilot once they'd decided on their coordinates, Snow fell asleep in his chair and snored loudly as he slept. Balthier was tempted to throw something at him to quiet him down, but it was better than having him constantly ask questions that had answers no one was willing to give. And so, he was forced to put up with the blond's snores for the time being.

"You have not told him of how we escaped the _Bahamut_," Fran said once she was certain that their passenger was fast asleep. She glanced at her partner through the corner of her eye.

"I'd rather not tell him," he quietly answered, resting his head in the palm of his hand when he leaned against the arm of his seat. "Mention that monster's name and Ice goes off on a rant about saving and protecting me from myself. I've just gotten used to not having to deal with his foolish antics, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"Then what we are doing now is your way of getting rid of his...antics?"

"No, I'm just giving him the chance to return to a life where he no longer is held back by Ragnarok."

Fran tilted her head, questioning. Balthier glanced at her once, then scowled.

"You don't believe me, do you? I'm not in this just for my personal gain, mind you," he told her. "This is all for his sake, not mine."

"Are you so certain?" She was almost smiling, trying to hide her amusement. "My partner, you rarely think of one's well being other than your own. You know this to be true. This search for the Cache is about the woman who owns that necklace, is it not?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, dear." Balthier turned his head away, pretending to be interested in watching the stars pass them by. "This search is for Snow's needs and no one else's. As much as I dislike admitting it, I owe him for all he's done for me. He gave up his last chance to return to his girl for me, just to stop Ragnarok from ending not only my life, but the lives of others as well."

She frowned, looking toward the map she held. "You had done the same on the _Bahamut_. Don't you remember?"

There was an eerie silence upon them, apart from Snow's continuously loud snores. Balthier sighed heavily and slouched in his seat, staring out at the night sky and letting his mind wander. "That which kills you makes you stronger, eh?" He scoffed, turning his gaze to the side. "I thought it always went differently..."

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"Another tomb? Okay, I'm done. I'm not going in there, and that's final," Snow stated as he followed the two sky pirates out of the _Strahl_. In front of them was a ruined temple, surrounded by stone pillars and crumbling cliffs.

"Thought you wanted to be the hero, Ice," Balthier answered, resting his fomalhaut on his shoulders. "That's what your here for, isn't it?"

The blond folded his arms across his chest. "I don't see any damsels in distress here."

"Oh, you'll find her eventually. And this is no tomb, actually. The Glabados Ruins, a common visiting place for pirates like ourselves."

"Let me guess...We're here for treasure, right?"

Fran nodded. "What more does a sky pirate want?" She followed her partner up the stone stairway, leading to the ruins itself, and Snow reluctantly followed them. They entered an hallway with nothing but spider-webs and dust in it, prompting the blond to ask if they were even in the right place. Which, in turn, earned him a rough glare from Balthier.

Eventually they arrived in an open chamber with lit torches along the wall and water flowing beneath the bridge they stood on. On top of an altar across the bridge were two glowing stones; one green and one purple. Snow sent a glance in Balthier's direction and muttered, "Thought you said this wasn't a tomb..."

"Tomb, temple, ruins...All one in the same," Balthier answered, walking across the bridge with Fran following close behind. As soon as he was standing right beside it, he ran his hands over the stone altar. "This is what we came here to find," he murmured. "The Cache of Glabados."

Snow walked up beside him, not even taking a second to notice the odd glint in his eyes. "Balthier?" he asked, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "You all right, Balthier?"

The sky pirate blinked, then nodded his head. "Let's just get the treasure and quit this place. The sooner we leave, the better."

"Which one do we take? There's two."

"You're a terrible pirate, Ice. You don't choose _one_, you take them both. We require each stone for what we're going to do next." Balthier took the green stone in his hands, while Fran took the purple one. Just as she held it, however, an esper appeared from the glowing glyph at the bottom of the pool behind them. She had long, blue braided hair, and wore nothing more than a translucent cloth over her pale blue skin. It took Snow a few seconds to recognize her, just as he saw his warmth breath in front of him when the chamber turned icy cold.

"One of the Shiva Sisters?" he asked, eyes widening as the esper nodded to him.

Balthier pulled out his fomalhaut, not wasting time. "She's called Shiva in this world," he explained. "An esper much like your Mateus, so don't think summoning her will do us any good."

"She must be guarding the Cache," Fran stated. "To stop us from entering the other realm."

Snow stared at the both. "_What_?" he exclaimed. "Other _realm_? You mean we're going to-"

"We'll talk later!" Balthier yelled, smirking. "We have a woman scorned to deal with now!"

Shiva summoned a cold wind much like Mateus, and both Snow and Fran were unable to move any further once their feet were frozen, but it seemed to have no effect on Balthier. After his partner sent a protection spell in his direction, he pulled the diamond sword from his belt and ran forward. He easily dodged the ice-spikes flying toward him as he ran, dashing across the floor almost like a cat. But when he reached the esper she grabbed him by the front of his white blouse and pulled him up from the floor.

"_There is naught left for you there, Ragnarok. Why must you return?_" she asked, her white eyes blankly staring at his face. "_Should you return, there will only be the end._"

Balthier ignored her words and pierced the diamond sword into her chest, forcing her to let go of him and throw him into the shallow water below. Shiva pulled out the sword and tossed it aside, raising her arm to summon another cold wind, but Fran aimed her bow and shot an arrow before the esper could harm Balthier. Without a mangled screech, Shiva faded with the ice holding back the viera and Snow.

"_I am Shiva, the Diamond Dust. I am in your debt, daughter of the Wood._"

Fran paid no attention to the newly formed esper brand on her arm and rushed to her partner's side, helping him get up from the water. Snow uneasily looked to where Shiva once was, but quickly regained his composure and went to the other two.

"Now are you going to tell me the truth?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes at the sky pirates. "What was the real reason you brought me along?"

"I'm getting you back to Pulse," Balthier answered, rubbing his sore arm as soon as Fran moved away from him. "And before you go off on some rampage, it would be best for us to leave now before its too late. The Mist will fade from these stones, and our chance of leaving this world with it."

"I can't leave _now_, not without saying good-bye to Ashe and-"

Fran interrupted, "We make for Ridorana, to the tower on a distant shore. There, we make our leave with the Mist left behind from the Cryst's destruction. Would you rather lose the last chance to see your Serah 'gain?"

Snow hung his head, sighing. "All right. Let's go."

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_Some things don't end up the way you want._

As soon as the _Strahl_ was in the air again, Balthier felt as if something was wrong. What Shiva had said wasn't what bothered him, though. Snow, though it was certain that he would never intentionally hurt someone, wasn't as loyal to Serah as he used to be. There had been something between him and Ashe during the journey to reclaim her throne, and the kiss they shared once the Undying was killed proved that point.

But the fact that he seemed hesitant to leave her behind...It was unnerving.

He didn't know the girl very well, but from what Balthier had seen of Serah he knew that she would never leave Snow. She trusted and loved that man more than anything else.

Love. Balthier wondered if he'd ever understand it.

"Ridorana is not too far now," he told the other two. "It won't be long until we reach our final destination."

"You sure that those stones will take us to Pulse?" Snow asked, leaning over Balthier's seat. "I mean, it could send us somewhere we don't want to be. It could send us back in time, or even to the future."

Th sky pirate half-laughed. "Wouldn't that be something? Perhaps we could stop any of this from happening, and then I wouldn't be forced to deal with you." He turned toward Fran, handing her the green crystal. "You know what to do," he told her, and she left the cockpit without another word. Snow took the time to take her seat, eagerly looking out at the sky.

"So you're really going to leave this place behind, aren't you?" he asked. "Ivalice's your home, and you're just tossing it aside like its nothing."

"It's time I found a new sky to explore."

"And you miss Lightning."

"Ice, be silent."

Snow grinned. "What? Don't think it's not obvious. The only reason you're going along is to see her again and apologize for leaving her behind. At least I didn't have to force you to leave your home like I'd originally planned." He leaned back in the chair. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You like to keep everything a secret from me."

"With good reason."

"How exactly will those stones help us, anyway? They look like nethicite to me. I thought anything related to that stuff died out once we destroyed the Sun-Cryst."

Balthier smirked. "Sometimes it pays to have a mad god under your control. Mist seems to follow me around wherever I go nowadays. Fran can't stay near me for too long, lest she wants to lose her mind again."

"Good thing my l'Cie brand is gone, too. Always hated it when it would get all twitchy whenever there was a high amount of Mist around."

"It's gone?" he asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Why?"

The blond shrugged. "Don't know, actually. I had thought it was because you died in the _Bahamut_'s destruction, but...I guess not, since you're here now. My so-called Focus was to destroy Ragnarok, the task given to me by the Occuria. But my brand didn't disappear once they were banished...It disappeared after you and Fran supposedly died."

Balthier looked down for a moment, then moved his gaze back toward the sky. "Snow, your Focus _was_ completed. On the _Bahamut_, I-"

The _Strahl_ suddenly jerked from an explosion in the back, nearly knocking the two of them out of their seats. An alarm sounded, signaling that the engines were failing. Balthier cursed loudly and stood up, only the slightest hint of worry on his face.

"Snow, make sure my girl doesn't fall out of the sky," he commanded, heading toward the back of the ship. "Ridorana is just ahead, so don't let this chance slip from our fingers."

Snow nodded, and Balthier briskly walked to the engine room out back. Smoke filled his senses, and he could barely see through the thick clouds leaking out of the doorway. As soon as he walked into the room, he was greeted with a sight he was expecting: Fran was shaking dust and oil from her hair as she attempted to slide the two stones in the engine, surrounded by flames.

"The Mist," she coughed, squinting her eyes weakly. She was anxiously glancing in all directions, biting her lip slightly. "Tis far too strong for her!"

"And you, it seems," Balthier murmured, kneeling down at her side. "I should have known this would happen. Damn gods and their magicite."

Fran slid the violet stone into the engine's skystone slot, but kept the green one in her hand. "We need not use the other. One stone must be enough."

He wasn't listening. As soon as the stone was in the engine, something seemed to be holding him in place; binding him. Fran grabbed his hand, bringing him back to his senses, just as the _Strahl_ jerked to the side and tilted in the air. Balthier fell into his partner's arms, and the two of them slid across the floor and against the wall. He let out another loud curse.

"Snow!" he yelled, pushing himself up from the floor. He shook the oil from his hands, his lip quirking upward in disgust. "Hold her steady, will you? I can't work on these damn engines with you messing around!"

The ship straightened out, and Balthier was beginning to wish that he had taught Snow had to fly an airship instead of Vaan. Fran was back at the engines, looking for what was causing the oil leaks. The flames were growing stronger around them, and with it the smoke became thicker. He could barely see her hurriedly working on the damage done to the engines, let alone what was going on around them.

"Fran! Just leave the damn thing be!" he called out to her, attempting to walk to where she was. The ship took another rough turn, and that time he caught his partner before she could fall. "It's no use. The engine's lost, and soon the glossair rings will fall, too." She looked up at him, her dark eyes filled with worry. Balthier turned toward what he thought was the front of the ship and yelled, "Snow! Once you see the tower, fly toward it!"

"What?" he heard Snow yell in return. "You're insane, Balthier! That'll _kill_ us!"

"Just do it, you damn _oaf_!"

The _Strahl_ tilted upward and picked up speed, and all Balthier could do as his world faded from sight was hold onto Fran and hoped that the gods wouldn't fail him.

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_:o Long first chapter, huh?_

_Anywhoo...um...Review and stuff. :D Go ahead and tell me that Snow needs to take driving lessons, or something!_


	2. A Violent Rose

**Author's Note: **_OMG! A possible Dissidia sequel? With my darling Lightning in it! If Balthier's not in it this time, I might kill something! *runs off thinking about possible Balthier/Lightning in Dissidia*_

_**Joshua Chung**__, __**The Giant Daifuku**__, and __**niconugget**__: you guys are teh best. :D_

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**2** 4

Chapter Two

A Violent Rose

_I almost never expected to see you again. I'd nearly forgotten you, but I still hoped that someday you'd come back.  
_

"You're awake already?"

Lightning looked up at the sound of her younger sister's concerned voice, frowning once she met Serah's gaze. Her light blue eyes were worriedly looking down at the female soldier, her hand resting on the inside of the doorway. Lightning nodded once, then turned her eyes toward the window once more. The sun was barely visible over the trees, and the wind was not as strong as it had been the night before.

"I couldn't sleep," she answered, folding her arms across her chest.

Serah stepped forward, standing behind the couch. "Your dreams again?"

"I don't have those dreams anymore, Serah. I told you that already." She stood up, walking toward the front door. "I won't be back until later tonight, most likely. They've got me working guard duty again, so when you get back from your errands don't expect me to be here."

"Claire..."

Lightning stopped once she stood in the doorway, casting her eyes downward. "Why don't you go visit the village? You don't have to sit around here all day waiting."

"Not until you start cheering up," Serah said with a small pout, narrowing her bright eyes. "Claire, its been two years, and you're still acting like something's wrong. Why can't you just tell me what's really bothering you?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"I _do_ understand!" She briskly walked to her older sister, grabbing her hand. "Claire, _please_. I know what you're going through. I've lost someone, too. Snow's been gone for a year, but you said so yourself that he'll be coming back. You remember, don't you?"

The female soldier closed her eyes. "I wish I could," she breathed, pulling her hand away and walking out the door. But just as she walked out onto the porch, the ground violently shook their house. There was a loud bang in the distance, and following not too long after was an explosion in the woods. Serah rushed out the door, noticing something in the trees.

"It was an air ship!" she exclaimed, turning toward Lightning. "Claire, let's go!" She took off running, her curiosity getting the best of her, and Lightning had no choice but to follow.

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Balthier forced his eyes open the moment he felt himself returning to consciousness, pushing the metal plank off of him and Fran. She slowly opened her eyes, shaking the debris from her hair once she was sitting up. Smoke was everywhere, but at least the flames of the engine had died down. For a moment, the two of them simply sat there, wondering what had just happened. Balthier looked down at his hands, not too surprised to see that they were covered in blood.

"Damn," he cursed, and Fran began to cast a small curative spell. "Must have burned them on that damn stone."

As soon as his hands were healed, he clumsily got to his feet with the help of Fran. The ship was tilted slightly, more than likely stuck in the dirt outside from the crash. He handed the green auracite back to his partner, and she tucked it into one of the pouches on her belt.

Fran was wearing similar armor to what she'd been wearing before, only she no longer wore her helmet over her ears. Her silver hair was tied back with a red band, and she wore a translucent cape on her waist. On her feet were brown leather boots that reminded Balthier of what Fang had worn two years before.

He, on the other hand, wore a simple white blouse instead of his eccentric vest and gray leather trousers. Black fingerless gloves were on his hands, and he almost smirked when he felt the goggles on his forehead. Fran eyed him curiously, tilting her head to the side.

He was home.

"Welcome to Gran Pulse," he murmured, shrugging his shoulders.

Snow stumbled into the engine room, squinting his eyes when he saw the two sky pirates watching him. He was back to wearing his clothes from Cocoon, only his burned hands were clearly visible. "Looks like we made it," he stated, stretching out his sore arms. "Maybe I'm not such a bad pilot after all!"

"You're paying for the damage done to my ship," Balthier said with a sarcastic scowl. "And don't think I'll ever let you touch her again, Ice. As I said before, you're no sky pirate." He walked past him, peering out the front window in the cockpit. He couldn't see through the branches covering the windows, but there was the smallest amount of sun-light creaking through. "But, yes. It would seem we have arrived at our final destination."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get out there and find Serah!"

Balthier and Fran exchanged concerned glances, then looked back to Snow. "You are certain that she's waiting for you?" the viera asked, resting a hand against the wall. "We know naught of where we are, let alone if she is there."

"I've got a good feeling. I know she's out there."

"Ignore him. He's just on one of his 'Serah' rants," Balthier assured his partner, smirking. "Well, then let's get moving. Feel free to lead the way, Ice."

The door wouldn't budge when they first tried opening it, and Snow eventually kicked it open after a while. Balthier wasn't pleased with adding more damage to his ship, but he reminded himself that it would all work out in the end. The blond jumped down the steps, eagerly looking around the forest when he walked away from the _Strahl_. Balthier stood beside him, surveying the area for any signs that someone else was there.

"What exactly was that stone?" Snow asked. "How'd you know that it would get us to where we wanted to go?"

"There are many rumors of auracite," Fran explained, sniffing the air. "They say it can summon an esper with no effort at all, but it can also transport you to another world or time. The Cache of Glabados is the auracite we have been looking for for quite some time. But we dare not use it more than once. Each time the auracite is used, the one who holds it slowly has their soul stolen by the stone."

Snow made a disgusted grimace, while Balthier folded his arms across his chest. "Well, it's a good thing that we're used to dealing with mad stones," he stated. "We still have one stone left, since the other one seems to have been destroyed in the crash."

"If we wished it, we could return to Ivalice."

"So _that's_ why you only used one. Fran, you never cease to surprise me."

The wind was blowing through the trees, and as they walked the sky seemed to be getting brighter with each passing moment. Balthier could see the outline of the crystallized Cocoon in the distance, and he wondered if Fang and Vanille were aware that he had returned to their world. Though, he still wasn't sure if allowing Ragnarok to return to its original world was the best thing to do. Something was keeping it at bay, and he was certain that what had happened on the _Bahamut_ had something to do with it.

Balthier looked toward Snow and Fran as the two of them walked a few paces ahead. Neither of them knew of what he was fearing, and he didn't plan on making them worry. Fran knew of the incident on the _Bahamut_, yet she chose to ignore it almost all together. He only wished that he could have done the same.

At last, once they were out of the woods, he saw two figures approaching them in the distance. Balthier stopped in mid-step, Fran as well, but Snow ran as quickly as he could to Serah and Lightning.

"Serah!" he exclaimed, holding her in a warm embrace. She seemed to be crying; tears of joy. "I'm back. I'm finally home..."

Balthier stood behind Fran, his eyes unblinking as he watched Lightning calmly walk over to her sister and Snow. She looked as if she hadn't changed at all in the two years he'd been away. She still wore her soldier's armor, but her coat was unzipped and revealed her toned midriff. Her eyes were narrowed the slightest bit at the two before her, and Balthier almost smirked when he saw that she had gold earrings almost like his in each ear.

"I should have known you'd make an entrance like that," she said, raising an eyebrow at Snow. "What took you so long?"

"Saving the world, as usual," Snow replied, grinning when he let go of Serah. "Miss me?"

"Not as much as you want."

"Haven't changed a bit, have you, sis?" He looked over to the two sky pirates, and Serah smiled when she saw Balthier. Did she recognize him? "Light, I kept my promise. This is Fran, and Balthier. Two of my friends from Ivalice, and the ones who brought me home."

Fran nodded to the pink-haired woman, and Lightning seemed to only be staring at her tall ears. Balthier had forgotten that no one in Pulse would have seen a viera before. When he stepped out from behind his partner, however, her eyes were only on him. She took a step back when he faced her, and she questionly looked to Snow and Serah, then back to Balthier.

_It really was you, wasn't it? The one I'd forgotten and lost. But there you were...Home. Back to where you belonged._

"You remember him, don't you, sis?" Snow asked. "It's Balthier, remember? He helped us save Serah and Cocoon."

She narrowed her eyes, walking toward Balthier with caution. No one was expecting what happened next, however. She raised her arm and punched him right in the jaw, almost knocking him off of his feet. Fran grabbed him before he could fall, and glared at the female soldier once she looked back up.

"_You_," Lightning hissed through gritted teeth, clenching her fists. "Who do you think you are? First you invade my dreams, then you try to convince me to forget you, and now, all of the sudden, you're back?"

"Light, that wasn't me!" Balthier retorted, holding his hands defensively in front of him. "I wouldn't dare intrude on a woman's privacy, especially yours. The one in your dream - I can't tell you who it was, but I can assure you...It wasn't _me_."

She slapped him across the face that time, and Snow winced when he heard her hand came in contact with his face. "I've waited two years for you!" she yelled, ignoring Serah's attempts to stop her. "Two years without even knowing your name!" She frowned and calmed down, looking directly at the necklace he wore. "But, it's really you...You're back."

Balthier remained silent, turning his gaze elsewhere. Lightning took another step forward, touching the lightning-bolt necklace with a single finger.

"My necklace...I gave this to you, didn't I?" she quietly asked. "It was in my dream. I didn't understand it at first, just flashes of things I didn't remember seeing. It...makes sense now."

"That happened to me, too, sis," Snow said, walking up to her. "I saw things that I couldn't explain, and it wasn't until I was around the Mist that I remembered what really happened two years ago."

Lightning turned toward him. "Mist?"

"The source of magick in Ivalice. It did something to my mind, making me realize what I'd forgotten. Maybe if I find something with Mist in it, it'll help you remember Balthier more."

She looked toward the sky pirate again, uneasy and hesitant. He could see that she didn't know what to believe, even if Snow seemed confident about what he was saying. The only one there who seemed completely fine was Serah, who had yet to say a single word to any of them.

"Fran, you still have that stone, don't you?" Snow asked, looking to the viera. "It might jump-start Lightning's memories. Can I see it?"

Fran handed the green auracite to him once Balthier gave her the okay to do so. He then held it out to Lightning, who only stared at it with a small scowl on her face. After a moment, she reluctantly took it in her hands and held it, waiting for something to happen. Serah walked up beside her, curiously looking at the glowing color.

"What is it?" she asked, turning her eyes toward her husband. "I haven't seen anything like it."

"Auracite," Balthier answered. "A stone much like the ones l'Cie used to summon their Eidolons. A rare thing in our world, but luckily we found it. Without it, we wouldn't be here."

"It's good to see you again, Balthier." Serah smiled, despite the shocked expression she was receiving from Snow. "I guess I could say 'nice to meet you', too, but I'm sure that's not important. Right?"

He couldn't help but smile weakly. Lightning silently handed the stone to Fran, then moved her aqua eyes in Balthier's direction again. "It didn't work," she stated. "I barely remember a thing. But, I can't help but feel like I've...like I've known all along."

"Your memories are still there, Claire," her younger sister explained. "It's like in your dream. Whoever was pretending to be Balthier tried to tell you to forgot him. But, you didn't let him. So, maybe...You just have to try harder to remember."

Balthier sighed heavily, looking toward Fran. "Nonetheless, we've got to fix our ship," he said. "If we're going to return to Ivalice, we'll need the _Strahl_ to be back in shape."

"You're leaving?" Snow asked, frowning. "Balthier, you just got here!"

"We still have one stone. Might as well use it before the Mist is completely lost."

Serah went toward him, taking his hand in her own. "At least stay one night," she pleaded. "You've been gone two full years. Don't you want to know how everyone's doing?"

He looked toward the crystallized Cocoon in the distance, and nodded once. Lightning was watching him, and for a moment he thought that she was going to say something. But, she silently led the way back to her home, making him wonder if there would ever be a time when she'd really know who he was.

**

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**

It was odd that no one from the Sanctum had found the _Strahl_, especially after the destruction the ship had caused. Lightning said she'd keep it quiet about what had happened, at least until Balthier and Fran had returned to their world. She seemed to understand that he was rather protective of his ship, but he thought it was only because of his obvious worry over it. Snow, as always, tried to convince him otherwise.

Serah knew who Balthier was, surprisingly. She hadn't been affected by whatever had stolen away the memories, since she had been in crystal stasis at the time of the false Ragnarok's summoning. She asked many questions about the other world, and he promised her that he'd tell her everything another time. That is, if he had the chance.

When night came, Balthier and Fran returned to the _Strahl_ while Snow stayed behind with the Farron sisters at their house. As soon as he was back in his ship, Balthier laid down on the small bed he and Fran shared, attempting to fall asleep.

"Are you disappointed?" she asked, sitting down beside him and running a finger down his spine; soothing him.

"I would have thought that all the Mist that's following me around would have helped her," he answered. "But it seems that this damned god is not as useful as I want."

Fran frowned. "Ragnarok has done naught?"

"For now, at least. You would think that since we're back where it belongs, it would try to escape. But something is holding it back, stopping it from taking over. That auracite would normally make it go mad, yet it had no affect on it."

"Perhaps it is Lightning that keeps the beast at bay. Her necklace may help, but she herself is what stops Ragnarok from harming others."

He sat up from the bed, facing her. "I'm sure that you're just as good as a 'beast tamer' as she. Once we're back in Ivalice, I won't have Snow, Lightning or her necklace with me. It would be wrong of me to keep it just for my selfish needs."

"Are you sure that returning to our world is what you want?"

Balthier glanced away from her. She was right: he had his lovely partner in crime, the _Strahl_, and a sky he had yet to explore. Not to mention that he could use both Lightning and her necklace to keep Ragnarok at bay. But, still, all of his thoughts continued to revolve around the voice he'd heard on the _Bahamut_.

Fran had left to see what repairs were needed on their ship when he made no signs to answer her. Balthier laid in the bed, staring at the wall in front of him as he mindlessly twirled the necklace around his finger. Eventually, he gave in to his exhaustion and fell into a deep slumber.

**

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**

_The air seemed to burn his skin as he carried Fran through the _Bahamut_, trying to find some way they could escape. Things were falling apart around them, and the entire ship was shaking as it crashed into the sand. If he wasn't careful, one wrong step could end both him and Fran._

_He could barely see through the clouds of smoke, and the scent threatened to choke him as he continued to trudge through the debris. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he couldn't find some way to leave the ship. The leading man wasn't meant to die in a petty way like that._

_Fran had lost consciousness sometime after they'd lost contact with the others, making him feel even more alone. He barely had the strength to carry her, having used up most of his energy in the battles beforehand. Summoning two rather powerful espers had consumed most of his magick energy, and it was only then that he was feeling its toll._

_Something crashed behind him, knocking him to the floor and forcing him to let go of Fran. She fell gracefully as if she was awake, simply laying beside him with a calm look on her face. Balthier felt panic rise inside, trying to claw its way out._

_What if he _was_ meant to die there?_

_His hands started to tremble, and he could feel Ragnarok attempting to break free. His heart was racing, and his blood was burning through his veins. But no - he couldn't let it take control when Fran was nearby. He wouldn't let her die by his own hands._

_"_You seek redemption? To rid the realm of Ragnarok. I, too, seek the end of the Divine._"_

_That _voice_..._

_"_Fear not, the burden you bear will be lifted. I will guide you to the salvation. Seek the auracite, the stones to bind Ragnarok once more._"_

_Balthier shut his eyes, and reached for Fran's limp hand. He held it in his own, waiting for the end to come._

_"_With the stones, you will return to Ragnarok's realm. There, I wait. Do not worry, hume. That which kills you makes you stronger._"_

**

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**

_Poor Balthier. Lightning seems to enjoy beating up people, doesn't she?  
_


	3. Gran Pulse Style

**Author's Note:** _I've been wondering: what __**is**__ Ragnarok's gender? Male? Female? Neither? O.o The world may never know._

_Sorry this is a late update, **Joshua Chung**. I'm working on chapter four as we speak! :D  
_

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**2** 4

Chapter Three

Gran Pulse Style

_Living in the past is almost as if you're trying to hide from the truth of reality. Sometimes you just have to learn to let go and forget._

"Hand me the sky stone," Balthier said, holding out his hand from underneath the engine. The young boy, Dajh, was quick to hand the small orange stone to him, curiously watching the sky pirate work with big brown eyes. He sat in Fran's lap, while she awaited any further orders from her partner. Fluttering around her head was the chocobo chick, having not aged a bit in the two years Balthier had been away - how that seemed to be, no one knew.

Balthier bit his lower lip as he attempted to replace the old sky stone with the new one Serah had bought for him. He hoped that it would work, especially since he was sure that they'd forgotten to bring along a spare. Of all the things that they had to forget, it had to be the one thing they needed if they were to return to Ivalice one day. He would have thought that either Penelo or Vaan would have reminded them to bring along an extra sky stone.

Then again, he didn't tell them the truth as to where he and Fran were going, let alone that they wouldn't return any time soon.

Not even a day after Balthier returned to Pulse, Sazh had showed up to see if what he'd heard was true. Amazingly he actually remembered the sky pirate, unlike Lightning. Dajh was excited to meet the man he'd heard about from his father, having developed an interest for air ships and anything that could fly.

Hope would be coming to visit soon, at least that was what Fran had overheard in a conversation between Snow and Serah. The two 'love-birds' were rarely apart, not that Balthier blamed them. He would have done the same if he had been apart from someone he loved for more than a year. Though, he almost missed having the blond follow him around like a lost chocobo.

"Do you require any assistance?" Fran asked, tilting her nose up when Balthier cursed quietly.

"No, no," he answered, his voice muffled from underneath the machine. "This sky stone's not cooperating with me, that's all. Tell Ice he needs to kick the damn thing in order to fit it in here."

"And risk him ruining our ship 'gain? I think not."

Balthier rolled his eyes. "Have it your way, then. If I lose a hand, you're going to buy me a new one."

"Mr. Balthier, I don't think you can _buy_ hands," Dajh piped up, laughing.

"Then I'll have to live with a hook for a hand, won't I? I'll be more sea pirate than sky."

Fran looked toward the hall behind them, hearing light foot steps entering their ship. Lightning stood in the door way, blankly staring at the sight before her. Balthier was cursing in vieran, not wanting to 'soil a child's ears', while Dajh was laughing at him. The viera, however, kept her eyes on their visitor.

"Am I interrupting something?" Lightning asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Balthier peered out from under the engine, his face covered with black oil, and smirked at her. "Ah, back already from your soldierly duties, dear captain?" he greeted, waving a gloved hand at her. Calling her 'captain' was merely a way to see if he could get any sort of reaction from her. In the two years he'd been gone, Lightning had been promoted from sergeant to captain in the Sanctum's newly reformed Guardian Corps.

"I wanted to show you something. That is, if you're not too busy with...cursing like the pirate you are."

He got up from the floor, wiping off his face with an already dirty cloth. "Fran, you don't mind if I leave you here, do you?"

Fran shook her head. "I will be fine on my own," she answered. "Yet if you don't return by nightfall, I'll send Snow out to find you."

"You need not worry, my dear. The leading man never leaves his partner behind."

After cleaning up, Balthier followed Lightning through the forest and out into the open plains where the crystallized Cocoon was glittering above them. The way the sun was hiding behind it almost made the crystal glow from the inside out. Lightning sighed quietly when she looked toward Cocoon, tilting her head to the side.

"To think, I used to live up there," she said, frowning. "I never expected to be living in the place I'd once believed was a world that was created only to destroy Cocoon."

"Well, I didn't expect this place to be rebuilt so quickly," he replied. "Although I didn't see every part of this village, I seem to remember that it was once nothing more than a ghost town. Odd how quickly some things change."

She took a few steps forward, keeping her eyes focused on the small creek at their feet. "In my dream last night, I saw something strange. Something I couldn't explain."

"Is that why you dragged me all the way out here? To inform me of some dream? I'm sure your sister would rather hear of this, so it would be best for you to find someone else-"

"It was like I was seeing through the eyes of someone else in a completely different world. There were people I didn't know, but it seemed like I did. Snow was there, and so were you and your partner. There was...a monster with metallic wings, summoning clouds of golden wind and magick."

He folded his arms across his chest. The Undying - that was the 'monster', no doubt.

"But then, everything changed. Suddenly I was standing in a dark room, and all I could see was Snow trying to fight off a different monster. He was telling me to run, but instead of running I held a sword. And I killed that monster."

He looked away from her and up toward Cocoon. "Ragnarok," he told her; quiet. "The very being that once tried to destroy Cocoon."

"It _saved_ Cocoon. Fang and Vanille saved us when they summoned it, giving us a second chance at life. Ragnarok was never meant to destroy any world - it was meant to _create_ one."

Balthier sauntered toward her, but she didn't look back at him. "Are you sure? Haven't you wondered _how_ Ragnarok ended up in Ivalice, in your dream? It all happened - what you speak of." He gently touched her shoulder, trailing a ringed finger down her bare arm. "Ragnarok was in Ivalice, and it was killed...But, as always," his lips twisted into a horrible smirk and she shivered under his touch, "you can never kill a god. Damned for eternity, to walk amongst the humes who would tame them."

Lightning turned around, narrowing her aqua eyes when she met his gaze. "Then where's it now? Ragnarok, I mean."

"Here in this world, of course."

For a while, they simply stared into each others eyes, not knowing what to do. Lightning seemed to be thinking something over, but for some reason, Balthier was unable to control what he was doing. Something in the back of his mind was urging him forward, telling him to move. Without even knowing it, he traced a finger along her cheekbone, pressing the side of his face to her hair.

"How long I have waited for you," he murmured, and she tensed up at the sound of his words. "With you, I am free."

She pushed his hands away from her face, clenching her fists as if she were ready to hit him as she had before. "What are you talking about?" she demanded, taking one step back.

He stepped closer to her, and she instantly reached for her gunblade - she still carried that toy around? Foolish girl.

"Balthier, you're not acting like yourself," she spat. "Not that I know much about you, but I know you're not usually like..._this_."

"Pity," he breathed, tapping a finger on his chin. "I once thought that you wouldn't forget that one moment we shared. Before we faced Orphan?" Her lip curled in disgust, but he continued to smirk. "Ah, yes. You _do_ remember."

"You're right. Some things _do_ change," Lightning hissed, tenderly wrapping her hand around the hilt of her gun blade. Yet just as she moved to unsheathe it, Balthier clutched his head and abruptly turned away from her, facing the crystallized form of Cocoon. Something was burning him from the inside, and he didn't doubt that Ragnarok had something to do with it. As if on cue, Fran had appeared out of nowhere, rushing to him and grabbing him by the shoulders. How had she known?

"Fran," he whispered, weak and frail, before everything faded from sight.

**

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**

The viera wasted no time in returning to their air ship, the _Strahl_. Lightning had followed her out of a mixture of confusion and curiosity. The way Fran had reacted to her partner fainting in her arms almost made it seem like it was a normal occurrence; calm, and not a hint of worry in her dark eyes. As soon as they were on the ship and had laid Balthier down on the small bed, Fran touched his forehead and frowned.

"He is ill," she stated, moving her hand away. Lightning stood in the doorway, not sure what she could do. "I knew something has been troubling him, but to let it go this far...I do not understand his ways, at times."

"What's wrong with him?" the female soldier asked. "Right after he mentioned Ragnarok, his personality completely changed. Said something about...being free now that he'd found me again."

Fran closed her eyes for a moment, making it seem as if she was hiding something. Then, she stood up and went toward the hall way, only to stop in mid-step and turn around. "I must speak with Snow," she stated; monotone. "I ask a favor of you, Lightning: keep him in this realm. I know naught of what plagues him, but his mind...is not in its correct place as of now."

Lightning nodded once and faced Balthier's sleeping form as the viera left the ship. He face was coated with slick sweat, and his breathing was labored. She sat down on the bed beside him, eying him with caution. 'Keep him in this realm'? Her eyes flickered toward his limp arm, and with hesitance she rested her hand on his.

**

* * *

**

"Fang! He's waking up!"

Balthier had barely opened his eyes when he heard the familiar voice of Vanille, but the girl he was looking at seemed far too young to be the cheery redhead. Her hair was in two braids, like Penelo's, and her green eyes brightened once she looked back down at him. She had a small pink shirt on, her signature necklaces hanging from her neck, and her bear pelt was tied to her lower back.

But, weren't her and Fang crystallized the last time he'd seen them?

His head was in her lap, much like the time he'd met her two years before, and he forced himself to sit up despite his tense muscles. When he faced her, she merely tilted her head to the side and smiled. Another girl walked up behind her, her dark cropped hair ruffled as if she'd been fighting. She had a blue sari wrapped around her waist, and she had a simple black sleeveless shirt on. Balthier instantly recognized her as the younger Fang, no doubt a few years younger than Vaan and Penelo.

...Where _was_ he? Where were Fran and Lightning?

"Must be from one of the other clans," the younger Fang said, her upper lip curling slightly. "What's your name, stranger?"

Clans? He looked between the two girls, attempting to put all the pieces together. Seeing younger versions of Fang and Vanille, suddenly fainting and ending up in a dream world...And the clans they spoke of must have been the ones of their home, Oerba.

It was a dream - it had to be!

He looked down at his own clothes, wondering why he was shivering. His white blouse was unbuttoned so that the lightning-bolt necklace was visible, and tied around his waist was a dark green patterned scarf. He wore open-toed sandals, and some-what leathery pants. No wonder they thought he was from one of the Oerba clans - he was dressed just like them.

"I'm...Ffamran," Balthier answered, coming up with the easiest name to remember (even though he strongly despised it). "Ffamran from the Yun Clan." Saying that he was from the same group as Fang made some sense - both of them had tawny colored skin and some-what similar personalities. He just hoped it was believable.

"Ffamran, eh?" Fang pouted her lips, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm Fang, same Clan as you, and this little brat is Vanille of the Dia Clan."

Vanille was grinning, a smile that Balthier had surprisingly missed. "Nice to meet you, Ffamran!" she exclaimed, enthusiastically shaking his hand. "It's rare that we find someone else sneaking around Mah'habara Subterra, granted that we're not allowed down here. We're only kids, they say, and we're not supposed to be down here on our own-"

Fang glared at her, covering her mouth before she could say another word. "Vanille, don't say that!" she scolded, furrowing her eyebrows. "You think its a good idea to go blabblin' on 'bout us being where we ain't allowed? If we're caught, they'll tan our hides!"

"But, Fang, it's okay to be down here now. Ffamran's older than us!"

Balthier raised an eyebrow at the two girls. Did she just call him _old_? "I'm only twenty-three, mind you," he told them, folding his arms across his bare chest. "Is that _old_ to you?"

"I'm thirteen!" Vanille piped up. "And Fang's fifteen."

"And considering most people die at young ages in Oerba, twenty-three is pretty old," Fang added, smirking. "_'_specially the men of the Yun Clan. Always goin' off to hunt and gettin' themselves killed."

The redheaded girl was standing up, walking around Balthier while Fang helped him stand. "I think he's not one of them. This gun looks like it could really hurt one of the beasts out here!" She was pointing at the fomalhaut gun on his belt, her eyes curiously looking at his face. "Where'd you get it, Ffamran? Did you make it yourself? I've never seen a model like that before!"

"These are some funny lookin' tattoos, too," Fang said, looking at the two esper brands for Famfrit and Ultima on his right arm. Her eyes then glanced toward the two large scars on his chest; one that had been dealt by Vayne in the alternate time line, and the other from Ashe when she stabbed Ragnarok in Giruvegan. "Are you some kind of freak, Ffamran?"

He'd forgotten how much he despised dealing with children. He pulled his arm away, and stepped away from the two. "In a way, perhaps," he murmured. "It would be best for us to return to the village now, lest we want to end up like your men on their so-called hunts."

The two girls merely shrugged their shoulders, but gladly led the way. The Subterra was filled with nothing more than endless caverns, twists and turns that he hoped would lead them to the surface. Occasionally they would see a group of miners working on a new tunnel, but Fang was sure to avoid making contact with them. Balthier wondered if she knew that he wasn't who he said he was.

Not that it mattered, really, since it was naught but a dream. If the two Oerbans were six years younger than they appeared to be when he'd met them the first time, then that meant he was five-hundred-and-six years in the past. Six years before Fang and Vanille were made l'Cie, summoned the false, incomplete Ragnarok, and were crystallized until the time of Barthandelus' rule, until the time Balthier arrived on Cocoon.

Being in the past, or whatever it was, wasn't as bad as he'd expected. Fang was almost the same as her twenty-one year old self, only less flirtatious and a bit more naive. Vanille was almost the same, only her curiosity seemed to be her drive. What bothered Balthier the most, however, was how it felt like he was following children again. He'd had enough of that when he had followed Ashe and Vaan the year before. At least he was much taller than the two girls.

"So, Ffamran, what were you doin' down here all on your lonesome?" Fang asked, peering around the cavern wall. "Up to no good, right?"

Balthier shook his head. "No," he answered. "I don't remember why I came down here in the first place."

That was the truth - something had forced him to lose consciousness, sending him into a dream world of the past. Ragnarok was behind it, since he had a feeling the beastie was attempting to get close to Lightning before he'd fainted. Why, he had no idea.

"Then stick with us!" Vanille happily said, turning her head. "We were exploring the mines, since tomorrow we're being sent to the other village across the sea."

"Other village? There's more than one Oerban village?"

Fang nodded. "Yeah. Well, it's more like a continuation of the main one, where we live. I thought you'd know that, Ffamran."

"...I have amnesia." A lie, yes, but partially true. He did have amnesia, but he pretended not to care much about that.

"Amnesia? Shame. Here I thought you were one of those proud men who weren't weak."

Vanille slowed her pace so that she walked side-by-side with Balthier. "So, does that mean you'll come with us to the other village?" she asked, giving him an 'innocent' look. "Maybe you'll find your memories there, you know?"

"Despite the fact that I'm a complete stranger?" He almost smirked. "You don't know what I'm capable of,_ girl_."

They stopped walking, and Fang stood between Balthier and Vanille almost instantly. He only realized then why she was suddenly so defensive of her younger companion. One of his hands had been touching Vanille's chin, tilting her head up so that she was leaning closer to him.

It had happened again. _Ragnarok_.

**

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**

Lightning had been dozing off until she felt Balthier's hand tighten around her own. She sat up almost immediately, looking toward him with startled eyes. Nothing had changed, but the corner of his mouth twitched ever-so slightly when she touched his forehead.

"Still warm," she muttered, pulling her hand away and frowning. "What's going on with you?"

Fran returned with Snow in tow, and Serah stood in the hall way as if she didn't want to come any closer. The viera went to her partner's side, checking his pulse and temperature. Snow stood beside Lightning, almost just as worried.

"You really think it's trying to control him again, Fran?" he asked.

She didn't answer right away, weary of Lightning's presence. "I am unsure," she said. "This hasn't happened before. I fear returning to this realm has changed him."

"It?" Lightning asked, looking between the two. "Snow, what are you talking about?"

He didn't dare say a word.

**

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**

_Young Fang and Vanille make me giggle. And what's really going on with Ragnarok? Hmm...You shall see._


	4. Pirate

**Author's Note:** _Well, I finally decided on how to end this story. Now all I have to do is figure out what's going to happen before that. Oy._

_**The Giant Daifuku**__ and __**Joshua Chung**__, you guys totally made my week. *hug*_

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**2** 4

Chapter Four

Pirate

_We all have that one part of us that we try to hide. But in the end, there's nothing we can do to stop it._

Balthier anxiously fiddled with the lightning-bolt necklace as he followed Fang and Vanille into the Oerba village. The two girls happily greeted those who saw them, and the looks he was receiving only added to his uneasiness. The citizens of Oerba were dressed much like Fang and Vanille, and the buildings were nothing like the ruins he'd seen before. He felt as if he was in a completely different world.

Fang didn't seem to trust him, however. Though he assured her that he wouldn't dare hurt her or Vanille, he mentioned that it would be wise to not...provoke him - meaning, not provoke Ragnarok. If the creature was trying to force its way back into his life, he needed to find a way to return to Fran and Lightning; before it was too late.

"Just stay close to us," the taller girl murmured to him, noticing his discomfort. He still believed that she knew that he'd been lying about who he was. "We're almost to our place, so you'll be safe there."

He nodded, understanding. Vanille reached for his hand, but he moved away from her before she could touch him. She pursed her lips, turning her head away from him when he gave her an apologetic smile.

Oddly enough, Fang and Vanille's home was the exact same house Lightning and Serah had been living in since the crystallization of Cocoon. It was in a secluded neighborhood, and there were few people walking around when they reached the door. When Fang walked into the house, a small robot-creature greeted Vanille and Balthier before they could follow her.

"Bhakti!" she said, patting the robot's glowing eyes. "Were you waiting for me again?"

It whirred in response, scurring off into one of the bedrooms once it looked in Balthier's direction. Vanille shrugged her shoulders, looking toward where Fang stood on the other side of the room. "Make yourself at home," she said, seemingly bored with the situation. "As long as you keep your hands to yourself, you can stay with us."

"When do we leave for the other village?" Balthier asked. "Or, preferably, what manner of errand are we running there?"

"We're visiting Anima," Vanille answered, walking toward the empty hall. "The fal'Cie of Oerba Village."

**

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**

It seemed that Balthier's health was declining by the hour. Fran was constantly attempting to heal him with an esuna spell, but each time the magick dissipated once it reached his skin. While Snow nervously paced back and forth across the floor, Serah remained beside her older sister and kept her eyes on the ill sky pirate. Lightning, however, gently rubbed her thumb against Balthier's hand as she continued to hold it.

"Snow, stop pacing," she muttered, closing her eyes. "You're giving me a headache."

He did as he was told, staring up at the ceiling with barely narrowed eyes. "I don't understand," Snow said. "He was completely fine earlier, and now it's almost as if he's on his death-bed! What the hell's wrong with him?"

"That's what I'd like to know, but no one wants to say a thing to me."

"It's not that we don't want to," Serah answered, frowning. "We do, but it's just that...We aren't sure if Balthier wants you to know the truth."

"It has something to do with Ragnarok, right?" Lightning's lips formed into a tight scowl. "Every time someone says that name, all of you refuse to look at me."

Fran glanced in her direction. "When he wishes to tell you, you will understand," she quietly stated, resting a clawed hand on Balthier's cheek. "But as to what he is seeing right now, it is not for us to know. He is at battle with himself."

Lightning turned her attention back to Balthier, tightening her grip on his hand. "At least tell me one thing," she said. "What really happened to Ragnarok? I saw Snow fighting it in a dream, and then someone stepped in-between them and killed it. Did that really happen?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fran and Snow exchange concerned glances while Serah looked toward the end of the hall. For a while, no one said a word and Lightning felt the urge to just start yelling at them all. Yet she kept her calm and continued to watch Balthier sleep; or rather, dream. The viera turned her gaze toward the female soldier.

"Ragnarok was in Ivalice, as you saw. But now, it is here...With us," Fran answered. "And soon, he will no longer control it."

"Lightning's here," Snow anxiously added. "And as long as she's with Balthier, Ragnarok can't do a damn thing."

Of course, Lightning didn't bother to ask about that. She knew she'd never get the answer she wanted.

**

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**

The fal'Cie, the gods that Balthier would never be able to escape from. He didn't care to understand why Fang and Vanille were going to see Anima with the rest of their 'family', but he did wonder why they would go to it before the time they'd become l'Cie. If he remembered correctly, the two were ninteen and twenty-one when they had been crystallized; not thirteen and fifteen.

Had he been sent to the dream world to stop them from confronting the fal'Cie six years too early?

With a heavy sigh, Balthier turned his head toward the window as he sat on the bench below it. The rest of the village was just as quiet as the house, though occasionally he would see someone walking around the streets. Both Fang and Vanille had gone to bed, and even though the redhead said he was welcome to sleep in the same room as them, he preferred to have some time to himself. And it didn't feel right to sleep in the same room with under aged girls...He wasn't _that_ kind of pirate, mind you.

In his time alone, he'd come up with a list of what had happened to him recently: Ragnarok was beginning to influence his feelings and emotions, Lightning still didn't remember him, and he had been sent to a dream version of the past. Yet he didn't have an answer to any of those things, which only added to his displeasure.

In the distance, past a grouping of hills, Balthier could see the outline of Anima's shadow. Fang had told him it was the village's guardian, protecting it from hostile Gran Pulse wildlife, as well as any possible invasions from Cocoon. The other world was back to its normal appearance in the sky above, yet it seemed different, somehow. It wasn't a shell, more of a whole world, which meant that Ragnarok had yet to attempt to destroy it.

"You're still awake, Ffamran?"

He turned around, surprised to see Vanille standing beside him. She held a blanket in her arms, and she was smiling kindly at him.

"I'm not tired," he lied, turning his eyes toward the village again. "I have a few things on my mind, that's all."

"Wanna talk about it?" She climbed onto the bench beside him, huddling up to him. He didn't bother to move away from her; it felt good to have Vanille with him again, even if she had no idea who he was. 'A common tale of late, that,' Fran would probably say to him if she saw him.

"I doubt you would understand. I'll just say that I'm not sure what my being here is about." Hadn't he said something like that before?

"Maybe Anima can help you." Vanille pulled the blanket over the two of them, and then laid her head on his shoulder. "They say she gives blessings to those in need, giving them a chance at redemption."

'Blessings'? Being turned into l'Cie was more like it. "You've never been to see the fal'Cie yourself?"

"No, kids like me aren't allowed to see her until we're old enough. Have you met Anima before?"

Balthier sighed. "Not quite. I was...nearby the fal'Cie once, but I chose not to go further."

"Fang's only been to see Anima once, but she didn't tell me anything about her." She pouted weakly, huddling up closer to him. "I'm nervous about going on the journey tomorrow. I've never been that far away from home."

He almost wanted to tell her that that would change in over five hundred years, but he knew that would only cause more confusion. "You'll find a way past your fears," he told her.

"I think that as long as I've got you and Fang with me, I'll be fine. For some reason, I feel like I've known you before." She laughed quietly. "I've never seen you before this, but it just feels familiar when I'm around you. It's really comforting, actually."

Balthier didn't answer her, but smiled as soon as she fell asleep not a moment later.

When morning came, Fang wasn't happy to see that Vanille had fallen asleep on Balthier the night before. The redhead was extremely embarrassed, of course, but Balthier acted as if nothing was wrong. Though, the hand-print of his face proved otherwise. Fang could hit just as hard as Lightning, even at such a young age.

After putting some ice on his slightly swollen cheek, Balthier followed Fang and Vanille to the boat dock near the edge of the village. As soon as he saw the ship floating in the water, he suddenly felt nervous. He was completely all right with the ships that flew in the air, but the ones that went in the ocean were things that he absolutely despised. He had a terrible experience with them when he was younger, something he preferred not to re-live.

"She's a beauty, ain't she?" Fang asked, noticing how much Balthier was staring at the ship's tall sails. It resembled a common ship from Ivalice, though it was put together with different colored materials, making it look rather unstable. "We call her the _Strahl_."

He nearly choked at the name. "The _Strahl_?" he exclaimed. "Where did you find that name?"

"Vanille heard it from somewhere, apparently. The elders liked the name, and it just stuck." She shrugged her shoulders, watching as some of the other villagers walked past. "You can't complain about the weird name, though. Ffamran's not exactly the best of names, to be honest."

"Fang's not a common name, either," Vanille piped in, and then skipped off onto the ship. Balthier sighed heavily and reluctantly followed her, hoping nothing would go wrong.

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"You should have told us that you've got a weak stomach, 'ran," Fang said to him, leaning against the railing while Balthier was hunched over the edge, attempting to stop himself from getting sick again. As soon as the ship (he refused to call it the _Strahl_, since it was not the same without Fran) started to move, he had ran off to the side and proceeded to heave up the contents of his stomach. Vanille had left to find him some medicine, leaving her friend to watch over him.

"I'm a sky pirate, not a damn sea pirate," he groaned.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Sky pirate? What's that?"

He turned his head, giving her what Snow would describe as 'Balthier's look of death'. "You have air ships, don't you? Ships like this, that fly in the sky?" The girl nodded and he continued, "Sky pirates are those who fly around the world, searching for treasure and being free, and what-not. Understand?"

"I'm smarter than I look, pirate." She tilted her head slightly. "I knew you weren't from here, especially with that accent of yours. No one from the Yun Clan talks as proper as you. So, where exactly are you from, Ffamran? If that's actually your name."

The ship rocked to the side, and Balthier covered his mouth when he felt his stomach lurch. Once he recovered, he leaned against the railing and muttered, "My real name is Ffamran, but I prefer to be called Balthier, and I'm from a world called Ivalice." There was no point in lying to her, knowing that she'd eventually find out. "Sometime in the future, I'll meet both you and Vanille, lost in this world once again. Then again, none of this is real, so what does it matter?"

"Ivalice? I know that name! That's the world where the Occuria are from, the brothers to our fal'Cie."

He remembered hearing that before from the Cie'th Stone he'd read two years before: _'L'Cie who rest upon Cocoon will reawaken, however long they may wait for our brothers the Occuria and their Chosen One. And Ragnarok will rise again, to tear the land from its seat in the sky_'.

"How'd you end up here, anyway?" Fang asked. "I've never heard of someone travelin' between worlds."

"I find myself wondering the same thing...I fainted, and ended up here in the past. This seems to be a dream, but now I'm not so sure." Balthier stood up straight, ignoring the constant rocking of the ship. "I do know, however, that meeting with Anima is something you're not meant to do, at least not yet."

"I've met the fal'Cie before. What's so different now?"

Before he could answer her, Vanille returned with a vial in her hands. Just as he smelled its foul stench Balthier groaned and found himself leaning over the railing once again. Both girls sighed in unison, turning their eyes away.

It wasn't long before night came, and by that time all Balthier wanted to do was sleep. He was sitting under the stairs leading up to the helm of the ship, and Fang and Vanille were talking with its captain, a man named Cid of the Dia Clan. He looked a lot like Raines, oddly enough. Balthier was almost sick again when he'd heard the name, getting tired of all the people he'd met by the same name.

"What do you mean 'the fal'Cie's actin' up'?" he heard Fang ask, the tone of her voice both angry and surprised. "There's nothin' odd 'bout our trip, right?"

Cid only shook his head. "No one is sure," he answered, "but it seems that Anima does not wish for us to continue this journey."

"But, Ffamran and I need to see her!" Vanille complained. "This is my only chance at meeting a real fal'Cie!"

Balthier could feel the man's eyes on him. Obviously neither girl had told any one else of their visitor from the other world.

"There is something that is displeasing Anima, and its not safe for us to go any further," Cid told her. "We have no choice but to turn around and head back for our village."

The man left the two girls standing there, and Balthier faced them, peering out from under the stairs. Vanille looked as if she was about to cry, and Fang looked utterly furious.

"The nerve of that man," she hissed, heading toward where Balthier was sitting. "What gave him the right to decide what we do, huh? Damn him, I say!"

"Such language is unfit for a girl your age," the sky pirate said, smirking when the two girls sat down in front of him. "Though, I agree with you. I always thought everyone had the right to do as they please."

Vanille rubbed her eyes, sniffling. "It's not fair! Now I'll never get to see a fal'Cie. I'll be the only girl in the village who has never met Anima!"

While Fang attempted to comfort the younger girl, Balthier looked toward the other end of the ship and smirked. He looked at them again, and then said, "I do hope neither of you are afraid of water."

_Even when you feel as if there's nothing left you can do, there's always that one person who decides to change it all._

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_Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day, everyone! (Does that mean we talk like the pirates in all the movies, or do we talk like Balthier? :D)_


	5. Death of a fal'Cie

**Author's Note:** _I think I've converted some of my friends into liking Balthier/Lightning...:D Perhaps my ranting had something to do with it?_

_**Joshua Chung**__ and __**The Giant Daifuku**__, I miss writing daily updates for you guys. :o Darn school. (Pssst, __**TGD**__? Let's see if you can find the reference to your FF12/PotC series!)_

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**2** 4

Chapter Five

Death of a fal'Cie

_Before the whole l'Cie mess, I never thought that you could kill a god, let alone a fal'Cie. But, as always, someone managed to change that for me._

As Snow had said many times before, heroes never needed plans. For once, Balthier had to agree with him. Then again, his sudden idea seemed as if it needed to be more planned out. Fang and Vanille seemed convinced, but he was still unsure if what he was doing was the right thing to do.

Go after the fal'Cie Anima, and demand that he be sent back to the real world.

He was fairly certain that he was in a dream world, a sleep induced realm created by either Ragnarok, or the voice on the _Bahamut_. Or, perhaps him returning to Pulse re-awakened the fal'Cie slumbering in its depths, giving them the chance to destroy the one who had damned them in the first place. Either way, contacting one of the gods seemed to be his only way back to the world of the living.

Hopefully none of the other Oerbans had noticed that three were no longer among them, but for some odd reason Balthier had a feeling that Cid would eventually realize that the youngest of their companions had vanished once they'd return to the village. He had given the girls suspicious glances while the Oerbans went below the deck when night fell upon them.

When Cid had ordered the ship's captain to turn around and return to Oerba Village, Balthier, Fang and Vanille had jumped ship and dove into the water. The cold stung at his skin, but he forced himself to swim below the surface without losing his focus. Fang seemed to be accustomed to such freezing conditions, for she had taken Vanille's hand in her own and led her in the direction of the shore while Balthier swam after them. He wondered if he allowed himself to drown, he'd kill two birds with one stone; finding a way to escape the dream world, and finding the only way to get rid of Ragnarok for good.

_Was_ it even possible for him to die in the dream world? He thought about trying it out, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to leave Fang and Vanille behind just yet. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he had missed their company; even if they were younger than he'd known them to be.

As soon as the ship was out of their sight, the three climbed up onto the shore. Fang shook the water from her hair, and Vanille wrung out her braids to dry them out. Balthier walked over to them, peeling his blouse off his skin and tossing it aside. The feeling of it sticking to him wasn't the most comfortable things, and so he decided to not even bother with wearing it at all.

"Aren't you cold?" Vanille asked, noticing that he was shirtless. She embarrassingly glanced away from him, pretending that something else had caught her eye.

Surprisingly, he wasn't. "I'm...hot-blooded," he told her, shrugging his shoulders. "Think me inhuman?"

Fang gave him a crooked smile. "You're mad and all, but you ain't a monster," she said. She looked toward the towering Vestige in the distance. "So, that's where Anima is. Still wanna confront the thing, Balthy?"

"I liked it better when you called me Ffamran," Balthier murmured, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "At least choose something else if you're going to give me an endearing nickname. Something that won't give away my real identity to Vanille."

"Hm. I'll call you 'Ran, then."

With that, he followed Fang and Vanille down the beach toward the Vestige. It was still fairly dark out, and the wind blowing around them wasn't helping him concentrate on where he was going. It was constantly making the lightning-bolt necklace hit him in the face, which Fang thought was highly amusing. He almost wanted to thank Ragnarok for having such warm blood, though. At least he wasn't shivering, like poor Vanille.

There was hardly a sound as they walked on, but for some reason Balthier kept hearing a heartbeat. Distant, yet it seemed so close. He knew it wasn't his own, or the girls'. At least, he didn't think it was. The constant thumping in his ears was starting to get to him, and he almost couldn't hear Fang talking to him.

"You listenin' to me, 'Ran?" she asked, standing right in front of him with her hands on her hips. "You're just starin' off into space like there's somethin' out there."

He shook his head. "Apologies. I'm hearing things, I think."

"The entrance to the Vestige is just down that tunnel, there." She pointed off to the side. "Think you can stay with us for that long?"

"If I'm gone, who will be here to protect the two of you, hm?"

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Lightning opened her eyes as soon as she felt Balthier's hand weakly tighten around hers. She was alone with him, at least until Fran returned from repairing the _Strahl_. They had taken the sky pirate to the house, mostly due to it being so cold in the air ship. But that didn't seem to change Balthier's temperature at all.

He looked as if he was dreaming, or at least sleeping. She touched his cheek with her free hand, gently rubbing her thumb against his warm skin. She wondered if he would ever wake up from whatever was making him ill.

"When you wake up," she muttered, "you have a lot of explaining to do. You hear me, Balthier? I'm not going to let you leave until I know what's going on."

For a moment, she thought he was smiling.

**

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"You know, you'd think there would be guards 'round here," Fang stated as she jumped off the small ledge, landing gracefully on her feet. She helped Vanille jump down, and when she offered to help Balthier he ignored her and jumped down on his own.

"Maybe the fal'Cie isn't unhappy with us, like Cid said," Vanille replied, shaking the dust from her hair. "What do you think, Ffamran?"

He didn't answer her right away. "It knows we're here," he said. "Anima knows that we've come to visit."

"Anima is a _she_, actually. Gods have genders, too."

"Do they? Isn't that interesting..."

Walking through the Vestige brought back memories from two years past, only at that time he was walking with Snow, Hope and Vanille. He had just arrived on Cocoon with no clue as to why he was even there. To think, he was only part of the plan to bring the real Ragnarok to life. He was beginning to dislike the gods and their plans...

The air was nearly freezing, from what Vanille had said. Balthier still couldn't feel the change in temperature, and eventually he gave his scarf to the redheaded girl just so she would stop complaining. She mentioned how warm the scarf was when she wrapped it around her shoulders, and she happily thanked him.

"I'm startin' to think there's more to you than meets the eye, 'Ran," Fang said as they walked on, glancing back at the two walking behind her. "You said you're hot blooded and all, but I'm wonderin' if there's somethin' you ain't telling me."

"What's there to tell?" he asked. "Isn't it normal for some to have warmer blood than others?"

"Not sure. Maybe you're not normal?"

He let out a weak laugh. "I appreciate your concern."

Vanille looked between the two of them, and then something up ahead caught her eye. "There! The doorway!" she called out, pointing at the stair case in front of them. The other two looked toward it as well, and Balthier recognized the barely glowing symbol on the door. The brand of a l'Cie.

He was beginning to think that coming there was a bad idea. But, Fang seemed completely fine with going on and climbed up the stairs with Vanille happily following her. Balthier took his time going up the steps, his eyes never leaving the brand on the door. When the three of them approached it, the door slid open and a distant voice called them in.

"_Ragnarok, I bid you welcome._"

Balthier uneasily looked to the two girls when he heard the voice, but neither of them seemed to have heard it. They slowly walked down the hall, not noticing the echo of foot steps behind them. Balthier stopped in his tracks when he saw the slumbering fal'Cie before them. Fang and Vanille stopped as well, and suddenly he could feel a cold air brush past them.

"Is she sleeping?" Vanille asked, looking to the other two. "I mean, she hasn't said a word to us."

"Not to you, she hasn't," Balthier answered. "To me, she did. I have a feeling that the two of you aren't welcome here..."

Fang narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean 'we're ain't welcome'?" she demanded, stepping toward him. "What are you goin' on 'bout, _Balthier_?"

There was a dim shine from the fal'Cie, and not a moment later a woman, glowing in a translucent light, standing in front of them. She had long, light blonde hair, and wore a flowing silver dress. Balthier squinted his eyes, suspiciously looking at her. "Anima," he breathed, knowing who she was. So the gods had human forms, too, like Dysley. He wondered, did that mean the same for Ragnarok?

She spoke without opening her mouth, much like the Gran Kiltias had on Bur-Omisace. "_I have waited some time for you. Before my death you ne'er came to visit me, Ragnarok. Such disappointment. You promised me that I'd see you, once more._"

"Unfortunately I wasn't myself back then, my dear. I was but a mere hume then."

Both Fang and Vanille looked at Balthier, wondering what he was saying. In fact, even he didn't know what he was saying. Something was wrong.

"_Yet here you are now, still a hume. I grow weary of waiting for you, Ragnarok._" Anima held her hand out to him, beckoning him to her. "_Come, Ragnarok. Your time is now._"

"That which kills you makes you stronger..." Balthier looked to the two Oerban girls. "And so, which of you shall be the ones to bring me death?"

Vanille's eyes widened, and she hid behind the taller girl. "Ffamran, what's wrong with you?" she pleaded, her eyes filling with wet tears. "You're not supposed to act like this! You can't...you can't want to die!"

"Oh, to be sure, he doesn't want to die. I, however, welcome death. With it, I can retake this form and obtain the freedom I have long desired." Balthier smirked, glancing toward Anima once more. "And so I ask this of you, girl. Kill me."

"You're crazy!" Fang yelled, reaching for her lance. "What's gotten into you?"

"And to think, the two of you are the reason for my being this way." He tilted his head to the side. "Casting that aside, you will be the ones to set me free."

"_You are impatient. This is naught but a dream, Ragnarok. Your death here would only be a false reality._" She held out her hand again. "_Yet if you stay here, with me, I can change that for you._"

Balthier's lips formed into a tight scowl. "So it was you who sent me here? When I was close to taking what belongs to me, you sent me to this realm!"

"_You promised me, Ragnarok. You promised to return to me._"

"I am not yours for the taking!" He pulled out fomalhaut, aiming directly at Anima's face. "My heart does not belong to you."

Anima frowned. "_And who is it that holds it? The woman who loves the hume you inhabit? My dear Ragnarok, how weak you have become._"

Smirking twistedly, Balthier narrowed his eyes as he readied himself to kill the fal'Cie. But before he could fire one shot Vanille ran over and hugged him from behind, tightly wrapping her arms around his bare chest.

"Please, don't do this!" she cried, pressing her cheek against his back. "We're a family, and families don't betray each other!"

He ignored her pleas, and shot Anima in the head without another word. The fal'Cie faded from sight, a tear a blood falling from her cheek when she disappeared. Balthier lowered his gun and shoved Vanille off of him, turning toward the metallic being before him.

"And so it comes to this? Killing a fal'Cie a second time," he murmured, resting fomalhaut on his shoulder. The fal'Cie began to glow, and its spinning arms sunk down from above and toward him. "Let's see how well this form can handle battle."

Fang pulled out her lance, reluctantly, and Vanille held out her dagger once she wiped her eyes. Balthier smirked when he saw them through the corner of his eye, and aimed his gun at the fal'Cie one last time.

**

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_Lightning leapt to the side when Anima flung its arm in her direction, nearly knocking both Sazh and Snow to the floor. She slashed her gun blade and stabbed it into the arm, and in a burst of light it disappeared from sight. When she lifted it back up, she turned toward Vanille and Hope standing near the blocked exit. For some reason, she wondered if the man they'd left with Serah would be all right._

_"_Hold up,_" Sazh stated, backing away from the wounded fal'Cie. "_What's it doing now?_"_

_"_Huh?_" Lightning looked toward Anima just as a bright light erupted from its form. There was an explosion in the distance, and everyone was consumed by the light._

_When she opened her eyes, it seemed that she was floating in water; only, there was nothing but air around them. She could hear a distant heartbeat and a series of bells chiming all around. Lightning turned her head to look at her companions, and asked, "_Where are we?_"_

_Snow shrugged his shoulders, turning his gaze toward the fal'Cie Anima a short distance away from them. "_What's going on?_" he asked, though no one had an answer for his question either._

_The bells' chime grew louder when ropes extended out from Anima, wrapping around them and holding them in place. Lightning fought to free herself, but each time she struggled the ropes tightened. She forced her eyes shut when energy shot through her body, and she felt something burning her chest. They were branded as l'Cie, no doubt about that._

_When the ropes released her, she found herself staring blankly ahead of her, wondering if that man from before had been branded like them. And then she saw it._

_Flashes of a man holding a lifeless woman in his arms, attempting to hold back his tears. His hands tightened around her, and suddenly in his place was a monster. It set the woman down on the floor and charged at the one who had killed her._

_And when Lightning looked toward the woman on the floor, she saw herself._

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When Balthier opened his eyes and shot up from the bed, he immediately clung to the one who had been sitting at his side. His breath was short and quick, and he shut his eyes when he felt Lightning gently wrap her arms around him; comforting him.

"It's okay," she murmured in his ear. "You're okay now."

He rested his head against hers, feeling the calmest he had in days even though he knew it wouldn't last long. Ragnarok was fighting to take over, and eventually it would...at the event of Lightning's death.

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_Why did it take me so long to write this chapter? Mehhh...I like writing Ragnarok's human emotions and such. xD_


	6. Not Always the Hero

**Author's Note:** _So, I just realized now that Ragnarok is a sword in FF12...When I found that out, I laughed. A lot. I need to put that into a random drabble...or something. :D_

_Hugs to __**The Giant Daifuku**__! :3 I'm back to adding two chapters per weekend! Yay!  
_

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Chapter Six

Not Always the Hero

_Secrets and I don't mix._

The next few days were nothing more than a blur to Balthier. Most of the time was spent sleeping, resting his mind after dealing with what had happened in the dream world, but when he was awake he made sure to talk with Lightning. Something kept drawing him to her, and it wasn't the confused feelings he held for her.

As soon as he was feeling better, he returned to the _Strahl_. Fran constantly checked to see if he was going to collapse again, but every time she asked he told her that nothing was wrong. He didn't want her to worry about anything else other than getting the ship ready to return to Ivalice. That meant he wouldn't say a word about Ragnarok controlling him while he was in the dream world.

He told Snow about it, however. The blond seemed to know right away that something was bothering him, and demanded to know what was going on. In fact, he wouldn't even let Balthier leave the house until he spoke up.

"What do you mean 'Ragnarok is _back_'?" Snow asked, eyebrows furrowed in anger. "Fran said something about that happening, but I didn't want to believe her. I thought Ragnarok bit the dust!"

"I had thought that as well, but..." Balthier sighed, turning his eyes toward the window down the hall. "It seems that the beast is smarter than we thought. It has a past with the gods, or so Anima said in my dream."

Snow frowned. "There's gotta be some way to stop it. If it's after something, we need to-"

"Ragnarok wants Lightning. Before it killed Anima, the fal'Cie mentioned that Ragnarok is trying to retake its own form to be with her." He sighed again, folding his arms across his chest. "I should have known. All the time I was in Ivalice, Ragnarok had been invading Light's dreams to convince her to forget me. Now I understand. It wants to get rid of me so that it can have her all to itself..."

"That doesn't make sense. Why would Ragnarok want Lightning?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. It looks like we have a common fairy tale on our hands. 'Beauty and the beast', indeed..."

The blond scowled, shaking his head in frustration. "You know what, I don't care anymore. I'm going to find a way to get rid of that thing for good, and then you won't have to worry about it ever again."

After their conversation ended, Balthier could have sworn he heard someone gasp and then run out the door in a hurry. He returned to the _Strahl_ not long after, and wasn't surprised when he saw Fran talking with Sazh and Hope in the cockpit. Dajh was sitting in the pilot's chair, staring at the viera's ears with curious, wide eyes.

"Why was I not told of this meeting?" he asked, leaning against the door frame and raising an eyebrow at the three. "This is _my_ ship, after all."

"_Our_ ship," Fran corrected him, glancing in his direction. "I did not want to interrupt your bonding time with Snow for a mere gathering of comrades."

"Bonding time?" He almost laughed. "You make it sound so important, Fran. It was nothing more than a simple discussion of tactics, I assure you."

Hope mirrored his smirk, and for a moment Balthier had forgotten the boy was nearly sixteen. Had time passed by so quickly? "Yeah, right," Hope said, folding his arms across his chest. "Last time we checked, you were sleeping like a log and using Snow as your pillow."

"There something you're not telling us?" Sazh asked, just as amused as the boy.

Balthier scoffed. "If you're all going to gang up on me I might as well just go back to sleep."

"I'm not finishing these repairs alone," Fran said, sending him a momentary glare. "Would you rather I leave for Ivalice without you?"

"Touche, my dear." He looked around the small room, then turning his eyes toward his partner once more. "You haven't seen Light around, have you? It almost seems as if she's been avoiding me since I returned to this world. I don't believe I've done anything to make her feel the need to run from me..."

No one answered him. Fran occupied her attention with the broken controls in the front of the cockpit, and both Sazh and Hope tried to change the subject. They were hiding something, that was certain. But, Balthier chose to end the topic right then and there. Hopefully Fran would tell him later on, if she knew what was wrong. He looked toward the other two in the room, mainly Hope.

"I'm not sure that I approve of you almost being as tall as me," he said to the boy, who simply grinned in response. "Two years, and you've grown nearly a foot taller."

"Growth spurt," Hope answered. "Didn't you have one of those when you were younger?"

"He did," Fran said, looking up from behind the co-pilot's seat. "When we found each other, he was naught but a child. He barely reached my shoulders."

Balthier glared at her, embarrassed. "Fran, please. You're ruining my reputation here."

"Reputation?" Sazh laughed sarcastically. "So running around and getting yourself killed more than once is what you call a _good_ reputation? Don't get me started on the whole motion sickness deal you've got going on, either."

"Must you mention that every time we see each other?"

Hope shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you _did_ get sick at least five times when you were last here."

Fran's ear twitched in their direction, and Balthier had a feeling she was being amused by his discomfort. "Well, I'm perfectly healthy now. Well, figuratively speaking. Can't say my mind is in the best of places at the moment, but..." His voice trailed off, and he immediately changed the subject to avoid any further complications. "So where did Lightning run off to, by chance?"

"Duty calls, what else? Light left earlier today to finish up some defense work at the Guardian Corps headquarters," Hope answered. "She said she'd be back by nightfall, so you're going to have to find something else to occupy your time. You can't always follow her around like a helpless dog, Balthier."

He stared at the boy, confused. "I wasn't aware that I've been following her around." Fran looked back at him, almost as concerned as he was. Nonetheless, he ignored it and turned his attention toward his partner and shrugging his shoulders. Not all things were meant to make sense.

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"So you really are planning on leaving?" Serah asked as she and Balthier followed Snow through the village. Fran said that the _Strahl_ was low on supplies, and silently commanded that Balthier was to go along with the couple on the errand. He didn't want to argue with her, despite how much he didn't want to leave her alone. He was getting a bad feeling about what had been happening lately.

The streets were crowded, and the young woman had entwined her arm with Balthier's just so they wouldn't lose each other. It wasn't hard to see Snow ahead of them, since he was much taller than the rest of the humes.

"Once the _Strahl_ is back in shape, yes," Balthier answered, frowning. "Fran and I have another course to follow, and not one that involves us staying in this world."

"You only have one stone left, don't you? The auracite."

He nodded. "Using it is the only way to return to Ivalice. Without it, she and I would be stuck here until the end of our days."

"This place isn't so bad, you know. It's nothing like Cocoon, but you'll get used to it, I'm sure."

"This world isn't where I belong. Ivalice, Cocoon and Pulse may have been connected in the past, but that doesn't mean they were meant to be in the first place. For all we know, my coming here has changed everything."

Serah tightened her grip on his arm, leading him through the busy crowd to follow Snow. Either they were starting to fall behind, or the blond was just in a hurry. "This is about Claire not remembering you, isn't it?" she asked. "Balthier, just give her time. She's remembering the smallest amount of things everyday, and even though that's not much, it's better than nothing at all."

"There's more to it than that, I'm afraid."

"Then, what else is there?"

Balthier glanced toward the end of the street, where Snow stood waiting for them, and turned so his back was toward the blond. Serah worriedly looked up at him, and he almost thought he was looking into Lightning's eyes instead of hers. Like before, he felt himself letting go of his thoughts and control over his actions.

"Balthier?"

**

* * *

**

_Fran's hand slipped from his own as soon as Balthier opened his eyes, and immediately he felt his breath return to him. Coughing from inhaling so much smoke, he pushed himself up from the floor and squinted his eyes. How long had he been gone? What had happened to him after he heard that voice?_

_"_You seek redemption? To rid the realm of Ragnarok. I, too, seek to end the Divine. Fear not, the burden you bear will be lifted. I will guide you to salvation. Seek the auracite, the stones to bind Ragnarok once more. With these stones, you will return to Ragnarok's realm. There, I wait. Do not worry, hume. That which kills you makes you stronger._"_

_Balthier looked down at his hands, surprised to see that there were the recently opened scars at the end of his fingertips made by Ragnarok's claws. He could feel the warm blood dripping from his forehead, and he quickly wiped it off with his sleeve. His clothes were torn, but he didn't remember seeing them get ruined during the crash. He remembered blacking out after hearing the voice, which meant that Ragnarok must have taken over and transformed._

_He could barely see his surroundings; the smoke covered whatever was left of the _Bahamut's_ engine room, clouding his vision. Balthier noticed the debris around them, and for a moment he had a feeling that Ragnarok had only transformed to save his partner. Fran was still unconscious, however, and he wondered if she would ever wake up. If whoever the voice belonged to had brought him back, why was his partner still unresponsive?_

_Grabbing her hand again, he desperately attempted to wake her up. "_Fran,_" he breathed, shaking her by the shoulder. "_Fran, we can't stay here. Those damn insurgents will be looking for us, and I'm not ready for them to find me yet._"_

_The corner of her mouth twitched, and that was all he needed to know that she was going to be all right. Balthier looked all around, searching for some way they could escape the ship. Knowing Ashe, she would stop at nothing until she found the ones who had saved her city from utter destruction. It was an amusing thought, despite their current situation. The one brought back to life only to destroy the worlds ended up saving an entire city._

_And the others - they were safe. They had to be. He left them to make sure they were safe. That they would _stay_ safe.__  
_

_There was a sudden rustling behind them, and Balthier could barely make out the voices from outside the engine room. In a rush, he closed his eyes and silently surrendered himself once more to Ragnarok. What happened next was nothing more than a blur._

_Ragnarok quickly carried Fran off the _Bahamut_, taking her somewhere safe until the Resistance search party left. The beast held her close, lightly touching her mocha face with its claws as it watched her sleep. It made no movements of harming her, which only made Balthier even more confused. When night came and the Resistance air ships left the scene, he returned to normal and made sure Fran was all right before setting off once more._

**

* * *

**

"Balthier?" Serah waved a hand in front of his face, bringing him back to the present. She pouted her lips slightly and put her hands on her hips. "You spaced out when I was talking to you. Snow said you had a bad habit of doing that, but I didn't think it was _that_ bad."

He saw Snow looking at the two of them from further down the street, impatient. "I am sorry," he apologized, shrugging his shoulders. "I lost track of where I was. What were you saying, again?"

"You were going to tell me what's really bothering you," she answered. "Though, I have an idea now of what it could be. You're thinking about that dream you had when you were unconscious, aren't you?"

"That's only part of it, I'm afraid. Everyday, I'm losing myself more and more. It won't be long until there's naught left of Balthier the sky pirate." He laughed weakly, shaking his head. "All that will remain is Ragnarok. This is what the fal'Cie had planned all along, to bring the beast back to their world in order to re-awaken its worth."

Serah didn't seem to care that he'd just unintentionally revealed his secret to her. She placed her hand on his, and smiled sadly. "We're going to find a way to save you, Balthier. You helped us save Cocoon two years ago, now its our turn to help you."

"I can't be saved. No matter how much you and your hero try to help, there's still nothing left for me."

"But, you're a hero, too. Everything will be all right in the end. That's how the stories always end."

Balthier met her gaze, frowning. "Not this one."

An air ship flew past them in the sky, and the two of them were hit with a sudden wind gust when they turned around. Guardian Corps soldiers jumped down from the ship, and Balthier instantly knew that he shouldn't have been there. The crowd curiously looked at the soldiers, and Serah tightened her grip on Balthier's arm when they cautiously walked around the people. A woman with short black hair, wearing the armor of a brigadier general, walked down from the air ship's deck, leading a line of elite soldiers guarding their captive.

"Fran!" Balthier called out, but Serah stopped him from running to his partner.

The viera was in handcuffs, surrounded by soldiers with guns aimed directly at her. Balthier wanted nothing more than to save her, but he knew it was no use. It seemed that their presence in Pulse had been revealed, and they were now wanted 'criminals'. Outsiders. The enemy. He knew that he shouldn't have left Fran alone, and now she would pay for what he had done.

The female general walked toward Snow, her sword carelessly hanging from her belt. "Snow Villiers," she said, smirking. "I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I hereby announce that you and this," She glanced toward Fran, her lip curling in disgust, "woman are under arrest. Outsiders aren't welcome in our new world."

"Outsiders?" Snow asked, narrowing his eyes. "Look lady, I'm from Cocoon, just like everyone else here! I'm not an outsider or whatever you're calling me-"

"You've been to the other world. Captain Farron?"

Much to both Serah and Balthier's shock, Lightning walked down from the air ship and toward the woman, not even looking in Fran or Snow's direction. "Yes, General Morgana?" she asked as soon as she stood in front of her commanding officer.

The woman - Morgana - looked toward Snow again. "You told me there were three from the other world," she said, "but here I see only two. Where is the other, the one called Ragnarok?"

Balthier flinched. He knew someone had overheard his conversation with Snow earlier, and it turned out Lightning had been the one running out of the house afterward. How could she betray them?

_Somethings aren't meant to be. You have to do what you think is right, not what you want. That's how it's always been._

Serah anxiously looked at him, then back to her older sister and the others. Snow seemed uneasy at hearing the god's name, and Fran kept her dark eyes focused on the ground. Lightning, however, glanced toward the crowd.

"He should be here," she answered. "Snow never leaves his side, and neither does the viera."

"Are you sure that you're not hiding him from us, Farron?" Morgana's green eyes flickered all around, searching for an unfamiliar face. "You willingly surrendered this information to us, but will you be willing to give him up?"

Lightning scowled. "I swore to protect Pulse after Cocoon was crystallized. If Ragnarok is here, then our home is in danger."

"Oh, to be sure." She turned toward her soldiers. "Take them to headquarters for interrogation. If they refuse to tell us where Ragnarok is, use force. It's our duty to protect Pulse, as Captain Farron here has so graciously reminded us, and we must do all we can to ensure its safety."

"Balthier's not going to hurt anyone!" Snow yelled, pushing the soldiers away from him when he walked forward. "As long as he's got Lightning and Fran with him, nothing bad is going to happen!"

"But they're not with him now, don't you see?" Morgana looked as if she was going to laugh. "We'll find this 'Balthier', with or without your help, Snow Villiers. Since neither of the women are at his side now, it won't be long until Ragnarok comes forth."

Snow scowled. "But that'll kill him!" He looked at Lightning, pleading for her help. "Why did you have to do this? I thought you cared about Balthier, sis! What about-"

"I'm not your sister," Lightning snapped. "And I would never care about a monster like Ragnarok. You chose to hide this from me, and now its your turn to pay for what you've done. You call yourself a hero, Snow, but you're all talk. Heroes _don't_ protect the bad guy."

Both Snow and Fran were led onto the air ship not a moment later, and Balthier clenched his fists in fury. Serah grabbed his hand to stop him from letting Ragnarok take over. "Come on," she whispered to him. "We have to get you out of here!"

Lightning took one more glance before following the soldiers onto the ship, and Morgana left without another word. Closing his eyes, Balthier allowed Serah to hurriedly lead him away from the scene.

He couldn't do anything to save them now...but Ragnarok _could_.

**

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**

_What the hell, Lightning? D:_

_I laugh at my real world reference. xD Ivalice has fairy tales, too, right?  
_


	7. Eternal

**Author's Note:** _So, this chapter is all about Ragnarok. :D I like to think all gods (fal'Cie, Occuria, espers, etc) have human counter-parts, which in turn gives them genders. My version of Ragnarok is male, unlike FF13's version (Balthier transforming into a female Ragnarok would be...odd xD)._

_Most of these scenes are just fragments, since they're just memories that Ragnarok has. xD Kind of a different format than I'm used to...Notice the changes in Ragnarok's personality in each fragment after the first one. ;)_

_Btw, apparently there's rumors going around that there might be an FF13 sequel, like the sequel to FF10. D: Whaaaat? (Just another excuse for me to want to play as Lightning~...As long as they don't ruin her character like they did to Yuna. -_-)_

_I am so on a roll, __**The Giant Daifuku** and **Joshua Chung**__. :D Two chapters in one day!_

**

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**2** 4

Chapter Seven

Eternal

For as long as he could remember, Ragnarok held a dislike for all things god-like. True, he himself was one of them, but the fal'Cie and the Occuria were beings he preferred to avoid all together. It didn't help much that they were the ones who had created him in the first place. The ones that had held him _captive_.

There were many fal'Cie, more than any hume could imagine. He had only met a few in his time, and all of them had their own distinct qualities.

Titan was a brute man with a passion for pitting his allies against each other. He had been the one to propose the creation of Ragnarok, hoping to find a way to finally destroy the fal'Cie of Cocoon and the Occuria of Ivalice.

Dahaka was sly, sneaky boy who had a taste for terrorizing the other fal'Cie. A trickster of sorts, as many called him. Ragnarok never liked being watched over by the boy; he took a liking to throwing spells at the fal'Cie's _pet._

Bismark was a woman Ragnarok never could understand. She claimed she was a free bird, unable to withstand the strains of being a fal'Cie, condemned to watch over her part of Gran Pulse for eternity.

Atomos was never around whenever it was his turn to watch over Ragnarok, leaving one of the others to take his place.

As for Anima...Ragnarok liked to believe that he charmed her every time they were with each other. To think, even the gods could be fooled.

There were other fal'Cie he heard of, the ones who stood guard over Cocoon. But they were considered as enemies to the fal'Cie of Pulse, and therefore they were enemies of Ragnarok. And, the Occuria? They were the brothers of Ragnarok's commanders, yet they were spoken of even less than Cocoon's gods.

Yet he had been told of one Cocoon fal'Cie: Orphan. For some reason, he had a feeling he would get to meet that fal'Cie one day. And when that day came, he would finally get the chance to kill a god. Little did he know that chance would come when he was bound to a hume form.

**

* * *

**

Days seemed to be never ending when he was kept in his cage. The area resembled the land of the Occuria; an empty sky surrounded by mediocre guardian beings kept in statues. There would always be one fal'Cie watching over him, giving off the feeling that even they knew the guardian beings wouldn't hold him back if he tried to escape.

A monster. That was what they called him.

He didn't understand why they all thought he was a monster. Every time he looked at his reflection in the water below his cage, he knew that he had to be hume. He looked like one, at least. Black hair tied back into a short ponytail, crimson eyes, and tawny skin. He wore a simple white blouse and loose silver pants, and he preferred to walk around in bare feet (that is, whenever he was allowed to walk around the fal'Cie's dominion).

Bismark told him that he was only their pet and 'naught more', while Titan merely used him for 'target practice'. At least Anima was gentle with him. She told him, during one of her visitations, that the Cocoon fal'Cie were growing curious about him; mainly the one called Barthandelus. When he asked who this 'Barthandelus' was, she merely kissed his lips and silenced him. He didn't dare ask the others, fearing that they would lash out at him for asking too many questions.

It was during one of Dahaka's visits when he learned more about his so-called destiny.

"_They say you're meant to destroy the other world_," the boy told him, flicking a dust of Mist from his coat. All the fal'Cie preferred to talk with their minds rather than their lips; Ragnarok found it hard to figure out why, however. He was casually laying on the pile of majestic pillows across from Ragnarok, staring at the endless sky above their heads.

"Other world?" he asked, fiddling with the chains around his feet. "There are more worlds than just Gran Pulse and Cocoon?"

"_The higher ups didn't tell you that? Shame. I'd thought you'd know more by now._" Dahaka grinned, his pale eyes unblinking. "_Our brothers, the Occuria. They're afraid you're going to destroy their precious Ivalice. So, they've devised up a plan to protect their world._"

Ragnarok looked up. "I thought that they only had a dream world. A place like this."

"_I forgot godly pets are dense when they're first created. Ivalice is a lot like Gran Pulse, only not as 'up-to-date'. There's air ships, armies...They've got some King under their control, too._"

"It sounds better than here."

"_Just you wait, pet. You'll get your chance at life soon enough._"

**

* * *

**

It wasn't hard to see the worry in Anima's eyes whenever she came to him. She would ask for him to hold her close, to comfort her, but he would always remind her that gods weren't meant to have 'feelings' for others.

"You have your humes who praise you each day," Ragnarok said to her, twirling a lock of her hair between his fingers. "So why is it that you need your _pet_ to give you a sense of relaxation?"

"_I know not_," she answered. "_My Oerbans only praise me because they believe I will turn against them if they disobey me._"

He frowned. "And, you don't believe I won't do the same to you? Kill you, lest you please me?"

She turned toward him, touching a gentle hand to his cheek and leaning close to him. "_Foolish Ragnarok. It is I who pleases you._"

**

* * *

**

When Ragnarok attempted to escape his cage the first time, he was forced to be put under the guard of more fiends than before. When he tried escaping the second time, he was sentenced to be watched over by Titan until he was 'back to being a simple-minded pet'. The beatings didn't bother him after a while, and he almost considered trying to leave one more until just to see if he could get a reaction from the others.

But Anima warned him to be careful, fearing that his actions would prompt the other fal'Cie to want to destroy him.

He didn't know if that was meant to make him stop and remain calm, or try escaping once more. Death seemed to be a better thing than life.

**

* * *

**

Bismark was kind enough to tell him that the Occuria's plans in Ivalice were in motion. They had given stones of Mist to their Dynast-King, King Raithwall, and with that they had planted their seed for absolute control over the going-ons in Ivalice.

Ragnarok wondered if such a thing was capable in their worlds; to take control of a hume in order to obtain any power desired.

**

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**

He watched her pace the floor for what seemed to be two days before either of them spoke. Anima, her long white hair and silver dress flowing as she walked, turned to face Ragnarok when he smirked widely. He leaned against the palm of his hand, occasionally glancing down at the chains around his feet.

She spoke, as always, without actually moving her lips. "_The others_," she said. "_They are uneasy about what is to come._"

"Are they?" he asked in return, his lip quirking so slightly. "More talk of Cocoon and Ivalice, I presume?"

She only nodded.

"The best intentions invite the worst kinds of trouble, I'm afraid." Ragnarok sat up, pulling the hood from his head and meeting her gaze. "One day the fools will learn that even gods have their weaknesses. I thought the events in Ivalice would have taught them differently."

"_The Occuria gave their Stones to the man in whom they saw power. We, too, seek a deity of such power._"

"The Maker, no doubt."

"_To summon her. Myself and the others wish to give our power to the humes of Oerba Village. My village._" Anima sat down beside him, resting a pale hand upon his cheek. "_They say you are to be summoned by them, and sent to destroy Cocoon in hopes of awakening the Maker._"

"Ah. So I will soon be free from my bonds?"

"_So they say. I fear that once you are summoned, you will not return to me._"

Ragnarok draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing the corner of her mouth. "For you, my dear, I will return. Whoever the fal'Cie choose as their new slaves shan't keep me forever. I will be free, and so will you."

"_We gods _are_ free_," she told him, placing her hands on his shoulders when she sat in his arms. "_It's the ones who choose to hold us back that think as such._"

**

* * *

**

_'The task had been set, your time anew.'_

Those were the words Ragnarok had heard in his mind the moment Anima had branded two humes as l'Cie - the slaves to the fal'Cie's bidding. They were to be the ones who would summon him to destroy Cocoon. He, and the two l'Cie were nothing more than tools of the fal'Cie and their Maker.

Anima tried to reassure him countless times that he was not a puppet to their cause, but he could see right through her. But, as it was meant to be, he willed himself to another place whenever she came to his cage, pleading for his comfort and _love_. When she kissed him, he felt nothing. When she touched him, he felt nothing. He only waited.

He would wait until death came for him.

**

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**

_'Ragnarok took wing; make to smite Cocoon, and thereby deliver us our everlasting peace. But Her Providence would not let it be. The Goddess pitied the fools who so blindly bowed to Lindzei's will, and so She robbed Ragnarok of power, putting the l'Cie to an early crystal sleep, Focus yet incomplete._

_ - Sermons of the seeress Paddra Nsu-Yeul'_

**

* * *

**

And so he slept for many years, lost in an abyss of shadows like the two l'Cie taken with him, and waited until the Occurian Gerun spoke his name.

"_The Divine, stripped of power at its time of birth. A pity, so easily taken from the heights of destruction. Come, Ragnarok. You seek redemption, a chance to find eternal freedom. Here, I give you this task._"

Ragnarok stayed in the place where he sat, rubbing his hands in a repeated motion. He could still feel his claws in his fingertips, just waiting to be unleashed.

"_You fear the beast within? It is what you are. I can give you a hume form, and with it you will be free._"

"A hume?" he asked, opening his eyes. "Is there such a hume that can withstand my power?"

"_Perhaps. Or, perhaps not._"

He scowled, turning his head away from the voice. "I refuse your offer. Being a hume is something I don't want. Just traveling from one cage to another."

"_We will find you a hume, one able to control your powers until the time is right. One who goes against the laws bid before him, one who is free._"

Ragnarok ignored the Occurian god, and once again willed himself to another place.

**

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**

Years passed, and Ragnarok stayed in oblivion until he heard Gerun's voice one last time. It told him of the hume he would inhabit until the two l'Cie from Gran Pulse would summon him once again. A hume from Ivalice, killed in battle and seemingly lost in death's embrace.

And for once, Ragnarok listened to the god and did as he was told.

The hume had been sent to Cocoon, and like him Ragnarok knew nothing of where he was. He was called Ffamran, or at least that was the name he had cast aside years before. He went by a different name, Balthier, but Ragnarok preferred to call him by the name he was born with. No one should forget their true name.

Ffamran allied with humes that became l'Cie, including one that was from Pulse. The one that allowed Ragnarok to fall five hundred years before. A girl from the village Oerba.

The humes, not yet l'Cie at the time, killed Anima in a moment of fury; or, that was what he had heard from the group after awakening in the crystallized lake. He felt nothing at the news of her death, though he wished he could have laughed. It would have been nice to feel _something_.

Ffamran was quick to follow the one who called himself a hero, not wanting to be left behind in a world not his own. The man was named Snow, and he became a l'Cie in hopes to save the girl he loved. Ragnarok didn't care to listen to the rest of his speech, and instead focused on the woman that had gained Ffamran's attention.

She called herself Lightning, but like Ffamran she had changed her name to run from her past.

_Claire._

Whatever Ffamran felt for her, Ragnarok felt it, too. The hume was thinking about her even after she left, wondering if she would be able to live long enough to see him again. But Ragnarok, however, knew that she had a destiny of her own. What it was was up to her, and not the fal'Cie that held her back. There was a power within her, and it drew him to her; calling him.

Someday, she would be his.

It wasn't long until the l'Cie had found the other Oerban woman, though unlike them her brand was inactive. She had been the one who had turned into the monster, who had summoned Ragnarok from his cage. And he could see that she would do it again if it meant keeping those she cared for safe. Ragnarok wondered if he would ever do the same for someone, if he could ever give himself up for one mere hume. Not a god; they didn't deserve his power or his sacrifice. A hume would be worthy, wouldn't they?

Claire was worthy. He didn't need a god to tell him that. She was more than what she seemed to be, and she was willing to give her own life for someone. For _Ffamran_.

Ragnarok wished she would look at him the way she looked at the hume he inhabited. They had a connection with one another, something no one else would understand. It was unfair, he thought, that he wouldn't have the chance to take her in his arms like Ffamran would.

Then _he_ arrived. Barthandelus, a Cocoon fal'Cie. The one who had taken the two Oerban l'Cie from their place of slumber and kept them hidden along with Ragnarok.

_'Curse his name.'_

He revealed the truth to Ffamran and the l'Cie, the truth of the hume's destiny. Ragnarok was almost amused at hearing his words, understanding the confusion and horror his vessel felt at the time. For one to hear they were nothing but a puppet of the gods...He knew it all too well.

But something happened, something that changed everything. Ffamran left the l'Cie, including Lightning, and allowed himself to suffer the same fate he had in Ivalice. He let himself die, and for a while Ragnarok, too, died.

Death was not what he expected. It wasn't freedom, as he had first thought, but it wasn't a cage either. It was simply...nothing.

The Occuria returned, and they spoke to the l'Cie when they found their fallen comrade in the ruins of Oerba Village. They gave Ragnarok and Ffamran life once more, but that time it was different. Ragnarok could feel his power returning to him, and he knew it wouldn't be long until it was his time once more to fully awaken. Ffamran could feel it, too, and that was why he allowed himself to surrender to his feelings for Claire.

When they kissed, Ragnarok felt nothing. But he wished that he could.

When they discovered Orphan, the Oerban l'Cie with the inactive brand transformed into a false copy of Ragnarok after Claire and the others were transformed into Cie'th. Through Ffamran, Ragnarok felt the distress and sadness at the sight of Claire's Cie'th, but he knew that she would return. The false Ragnarok failed, and the others returned to their true forms not long after.

Orphan was defeated, and Ragnarok was glad to have finally killed a fal'Cie; the gods who had caged him for so long. He knew it was time for his freedom to arise, but instead he was caged once more.

The two Oerbans transformed into the complete form of the false Ragnarok, and when they transformed Ffamran was sent back to his world. As for the real Ragnarok, he was bound completely to the hume; unable to retain his true form and destroy the rest of the fal'Cie.

Unable to stay with Claire.

**

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**

_'When our earthly vessels meet their end, the souls they housed must leave this world. Would the path of their migration not be the same as our departed gods? Must they not pass through the same doorway the Divine employed to reach that place that lies beyond?_

_If this is the case, it stands to reason that, should a great many lives at once be cut short, a flood of souls would surge through the aforementioned portal. The Door would be thrown wide, and perhaps we might even glimpse the gleaming light of the Divinity beyond._

_ - On the Nature of fal'Cie'_

**

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**

After returning to Ivalice, Ffamran couldn't see that the Occuria had reset time to before he had been killed. Ragnarok saw this, and understood that their were still gods in the world that needed to be killed; to be destroyed.

It wasn't long until he found a way to retrain complete strength. Ffamran was not as strong as he claimed to be, and was easy to control. Ragnarok was able to transform into the beast and devour humes whenever he needed strength, whenever Ffamran needed strength. Harboring a god took its toll on his body, and eventually he would fade.

Yet that man from Cocoon, Snow, arrived in Ivalice without any idea as to who his old comrade was. Ffamran was angered by this and made it easier for Ragnarok to take control. Snow was a tool of the Occuria, sent to their world to guide the princess of Dalmasca to her destiny.

Ragnarok wouldn't allow that to happen, and he would have transformed and killed the princess and her 'hero, but something held him back from harming either of them. Ffamran wore Claire's necklace, given to him at the time of his death on Gran Pulse. It kept Ragnarok from transforming any time he wished it, and held him back from obtaining the freedom he desired. It was the same way with Snow's presence. Anytime he was around Ffamran, Ragnarok couldn't transform.

That is, until they traveled to Giruvegan, the land of the Occuria.

The princess had been given her Treaty Blade by the Occuria, and was informed that one of her companions was harboring the beast known as the Divine. At that, Ffamran willingly let Ragnarok take over and prepared to kill both the princess and Snow. But she drew her Sword of Kings and killed the beast and Ffamran.

It seemed that everything ended at that moment.

But Snow, _foolish_ Snow went to the Occuria and begged to bring back his friend. He agreed to help the princess in her cause, and vowed to find some way to rid the world of Ragnarok.

The _traitors_! The Occuria had been the ones who brought Ragnarok to Ffamran, giving both of them a second chance at life. Because of them, he had been torn from his slumber and taken to a world where he was caged. It was then that he swore to end their control over Ivalice, to aid Ffamran and the princess in their cause.

He remained under control for the rest of that journey, but when Ffamran's life was in danger he took a risk. He transformed when the hume fell unconscious, and took both he and his partner to safety when the air ship, the _Bahamut_, crashed.

And as if it was a reward to Ragnarok for saving their lives, Ffamran returned to Gran Pulse...And Claire.

**

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**

_'Children of Hallowed Pulse scour earth, searching substance for the Door. Those of Fell Lindzei harvest souls, combing ether for the same. So have I seen._

_The Door, once shut, was locked away, with despair its secret key; sacrifice, the one hope of seeing it unsealed._

_When the twilight of the gods at last descends upon this world, what emerges from the unseeable expanse beyond that Door will be but music, and the devoid of words: the lamentations of the Goddess Etro, as She sobs Her song of grief._

_ - Author unknown'_

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Lightning leaned her head against the window of her bed room, listening to the rain pattering against the glass. She touched the spot where her l'Cie brand once was, and closed her eyes. Snow was gone, as was Fran, and Balthier went missing around the same time as Serah. For once, she was alone. And it was all her fault.

But, unknown to her, Balthier walked out from the shadows and stood outside her window, staring up at her. The rain fell against his warm face, but he didn't dare move from where he stood. He moved his gaze toward the thick clouds above, and allowed himself to smile faintly before closing his eyes.

"_I came back_," Ragnarok murmured. "_I came back for you_."

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_This took me longer than I expected. o.o Ragnarok...is so damn confusing! Oy._


	8. Damned

**Author's Note:** _And now we're back to the main plot. :D More angst and...stuff. And, we're halfway done with this story already! Yes, it's not as long as the first two, but I was following a strict storyline for both. This one, on the other hand, is all me. xD Hence the reason for it not being as long as the other two. I'm kinda lazy when it comes to that..._

_I hope this chapter is just as good as the last one, __**The Giant Daifuku**__!_

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**2** 4

Chapter Eight

Damned

_I'd rather die than betray those I swore to protect. Of course...You can't always protect everyone. Even yourself._

Snow fell to the floor again when he felt the force of Morgana's wrath. He wiped the blood from his mouth with the sleeve of his coat, and he smirked when he saw the shadow of her sword over him. Fran was standing on the other side of the small interrogation - or was it torture? - room, held back by the same soldiers who had arrested them. They had originally planned on interrogating her, since she was the closest to Balthier, but Snow wouldn't allow it. And so he volunteered to take the blame, to protect her.

"I will ask one more time, Villiers," the female general said, scowling. "Where is Ragnarok?"

"What makes you think I know?" Snow asked, grinning widely. Blood slowly dripped off his lips, but he didn't care. His pain meant nothing to him at the moment. As long as he could buy Balthier enough time to get the hell out of the village, then nothing else mattered. "That beast likes to run around a lot. Hard to track it down, you know?"

That earned him another hard whack on the back, and he weakly grunted when he was forced back down to the floor. He spat out blood when he coughed, but again he only grinned up at the woman.

"What do you want with that thing, anyway? Don't tell me you're just another one of those idiots thinking they can become gods if they kill one. Trust me, it doesn't work that way."

"You l'Cie have always been a thorn in my side." Morgana leaned against the hilt of her sword. "No matter how hard we try, you never say a word of what we're looking for. Always the hero, aren't you, Villiers?"

"Someone has to be. The other hero is currently on the run from _you_."

"As is your darling Serah. Isn't that right, Farron?" She glanced toward Lightning, who stood in the corner of the room with a passive look in her eyes. "Harboring the enemy, protecting a monster...Your wife is quite the traitor, isn't she? And such a pretty girl, too...It would be a shame if anything _terrible_ happened to her."

Snow scowled. "Leave Serah out of this!" he demanded, standing up. "Everything was fine until you had to get involved! I thought the Guardian Corps was better than this!"

"We are the Sanctum. There is no Calvary, nor Resistance to aid you in this battle." She rested the blade against his neck, and she tilted her head to the side. "I do not seek to become a god. This task was bestowed to me, and I intend to fulfill it. If you and this viera attempt to stop me, then it won't be just Ragnarok and Serah who will die."

Morgana raised her sword and pierced it into Snow's side, smirking when he yelled out in agony. Fran narrowed her eyes, and once the sword was out of him she ran to his aid before he could collapse. He attempted to slow the blood flow by pressing his hands against the wound, but it didn't help very much. As the soldiers followed their commanding officer out of the small room, the viera looked up at Lightning; silently asking why she had betrayed them. But Lightning turned away and left, and Fran could only close her eyes and wait for it all to be over.

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Serah shook the rain from her hair when she walked into the small cavern she and Balthier were staying for the night. She set down the blanket she managed to find in her home, as well as a small pack of food and supplies. He was setting up a small fire, cursing quietly everytime the flame went out. When she looked down at him, he chose to ignore her and continue working on the fire.

"Balthier," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Why don't you just cast magick to start a fire? You don't have to do it by hand."

"I don't know what will happen if I cast magick," he answered, tossing the wooden stick aside. "I'm not going to risk losing you to the beast as I have..." He sighed, hanging his head low. "...everyone else."

"I'm not going to leave you." She knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in her own. "Balthier, I don't want you to end up in the Guardian Corps' claws like Snow and Fran. If they find you, I just know that they'll try to force Ragnarok out. I can't let that happen to you. It just...It wouldn't be fair."

He didn't pull his hands from hers right away. "You're putting yourself in danger just by staying here. You're better off with Lightning, back at your home."

"I'm a wanted enemy now, just like you. I ran when I could have turned you in to Morgana and her lackeys, but I chose to help you. You helped me, now its my turn to help you."

He only nodded, keeping his eyes on the weak flame.

She smiled, adjusting her sitting position as she watched Balthier reluctantly cast a small fira spell on the pile of sticks. "Do you remember, back when the others were made l'Cie? You stayed with my crystal and protected me." She lifted up one of her hands and held it against one of his, and then she entwined their fingers together. "You held my hand. Like this. When no one else was around, you were there."

"If I'm not mistaken, it would seem you're attempting to confess your love, princess." Balthier smirked and moved his hand away from hers again, and she laughed quietly.

"Princess?" she asked. "You're not the first person to call me that, you know." Balthier stared at her, confused, and so she continued, "Snow's called me that a few times since you brought him back. I asked him why, but he wouldn't say a word."

He remembered Snow's complicated relationship with the princess - no, _queen _Ashe back in Ivalice. The blond had been living with her after the defeat of Vayne, and became a knight under her charge. He had a feeling there was something more between them, but he didn't dare mention that in front of Serah. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned', they always said...

"Ivalice has princesses, princes, queens and kings, right? I'm sure that's where he picked up that habit." She tilted her head to the side. "Then again, he _did_ mention this one woman he met. Ashe?"

Balthier nodded. "The queen of Dalmasca herself."

"At least you're honest with me. I've been getting the feeling that Snow is hiding something from me." She stared into the fire, frowning. "Sometimes I wonder if all of this was never meant to be. I mean, I am happy that Snow's back home...It's just that it feels like something is wrong. Like something is out of place."

"Of course there's always at least one simple thing out of place. In this case, there are three. Myself, Fran and Ragnarok."

"I just wish everything could go back to normal, before the fal'Cie took control of our lives. It seems like we'll never be able to get rid of them, no matter how hard we try."

The conversation ended at that, mainly due to Balthier not wanting to say anything more about the gods and their puppets. The Occuria were lost, it seemed, but the fal'Cie were still there; somehow. Cocoon may have been destroyed, but that didn't mean its gods were gone. Ragnarok was proof of that.

Serah pulled out a blanket from the pack and draped it over she and Balthier, huddling up close to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, not moving his eyes from the dancing flames before them. Eventually the girl fell asleep, leaving him alone with his endless thoughts.

**

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_Serah didn't dare let go of Balthier's hand as they ran out of the crowd, and he could see the sudden worry she held from her actions. After seeing both Snow and Fran being taken away by the Guardian Corps, or rather, the Sanctum, he was almost as worried as she was. Yet what truly bothered him was how easily Lightning had surrendered her comrades to the enemy. How could she betray them?_

_No, it was because they _weren't_ her comrades. At least, not like before. She didn't remember anything from the journey beforehand, which was why she had reacted the way she had after learning the truth about Ragnarok. She was just doing what she believed was the right thing to do._

_"_We can't go back home, or to your air ship,_" Serah stated as they ran. The were far from the village, far away from the danger. "_We'll just have to find somewhere else to stay for the night._"_

_Balthier didn't answer her._

_"_Everything is going to be okay,_" she continued, though it seemed she was reassuring herself more than him. "_We'll find a way to rescue the others!_"_

_They managed to see the _Strahl_ in the woods when they snuck past the soldiers, and just as they expected it was under guard for being an air ship from the other world. Sazh and Hope were there, being questioned about what they knew about Ragnarok. The older man saw Balthier and Serah standing behind one of the trees, and motioned for the two of them to leave the area. They took his advice, glad to know that he was still on their side._

_When they found a small cave at the edge of the village, Serah broke out into tears. She started to sob uncontrollably, and Balthier had no clue of what he could do to help her. She stammered when she spoke, demanding that they find some way to save their friends, asking why her sister would purposely become a traitor._

_Balthier held her in his arms, stroking her hair and let her cry until the tears stopped. He silently made a promise to her: he would save Snow and Fran, even if it meant turning himself in._

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"You're leaving?"

Serah was blankly staring at him when he returned to the cavern the next morning, her eyes barely narrowed when she faced him. She kept her arms at her sides, though it looked as if she wanted nothing more than to slap him across the face for even thinking of leaving her behind.

"Fran still has the auracite, unless she hid it somewhere in the _Strahl_," Balthier told her, picking up his fomalhaut gun (Sazh had taken it before the soldiers could find it on the ship, and left it in the bushes for Balthier to find when he was out walking again). "I'm not leaving this world without her, and it's my fault she is even their captivity in the first place. I knew that it was wrong of me to leave her with the ship..."

"So you're just going to give up?" she asked. "Balthier, that won't save Snow and Fran! If anything, it'll put them in even more danger!"

"And if they stay there, they'll die. If that woman wants her god, then she can have it." Balthier began to walk out of the cave, but Serah ran over and hugged him from behind, holding him in place.

"Please, don't do this. There has to be some other way," she said, biting her lower lip. "It doesn't have to end like this."

He cast his eyes downward. "You want everything to go back to the way it was, don't you? It's my job to fix the going-ons in the world as the leading man."

"Then don't be him, just for one day!" Serah pulled away and stood in front of him, blocking his path. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. "Just this once, let someone else save the day. _Please._"

The two of them stood there for what seemed to be hours, and he knew that Serah wasn't going to let him leave so easily. It was dangerous to leave her on her own, especially when she was a fugitive, like him, but allowing her to go with him would be worse.

Yet that didn't stop him from taking her hand and leading her away from the cavern.

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The headquarters of the Guardian Corps were underground, hidden below the Oerba village and from the eyes of the people who lived there. The soldiers guarding the entrance were easy to deal with, and they fell with little effort on Balthier's part. Serah had learned magick on her own, despite the fact that she wasn't a l'Cie, and cast sleep on the men before they even knew there were intruders.

Balthier said that it would have been better to just kill them and run, but he knew that wasn't really his opinion.

By the time they reached the elevator leading to what they believed were the holding cells, he had a bad feeling all of the sudden. As the lift took them to the lower floors, Serah turned toward him and noticed his tense expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He didn't answer her right away. "I'm not sure I want you to come with me any further," he answered. "I don't want you to see what's going to happen when I find the ones who captured Fran and Snow."

She frowned. "You're going to let Ragnarok out, aren't you? To kill that woman and her soldiers."

"Am I that easy to figure out?" Balthier almost laughed. "It's time that this damned god has its say in all this. It's been a while since I willingly let it have freedom."

"You've done this before?"

"It was a year ago, when Fran and I stayed behind on the _Bahamut_ in order to save Rabanastre from utter destruction. It didn't go as planned, of course. Fran was injured, and I almost gave up when it seemed that there was no escape from death. A voice spoke to me, telling me to return here once I found the auracite. It was then that I allowed Ragnarok to come forth, to save Fran before the insurgence could find us." He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "It was odd, seeing through the eyes of the beast. It didn't harm Fran at all - it made sure she made it out alive. Myself, however...I wasn't as lucky as she was."

Serah's eyes widened. "You...died."

"Transforming into Ragnarok has always taken its toll on me, but that time I couldn't handle it. Something brought me back, and for a while I didn't know what it was. The voice had told me: _that which kills you makes you stronger_. I understand now - every time Ragnarok is killed, or if I am, it grows stronger. It won't be long until I'm no longer here, and all that will be left is the beast."

"There has to be some way we can separate you and Ragnarok. There _has_ to be." Serah shook her head. "This isn't the only way it has to end."

Balthier attempted to smile. "You said that already, princess." He pressed a button on the wall, and the doors slid open. He then turned around and held out his hanker chief to her. "Now, hold on to this for me. Just until I bring your hero back to you."

He walked away, and the doors closed behind him. Serah closed her eyes, holding the cloth close to her chest as she faintly sighed.

**

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_That day suddenly turned out to be the doomsday for all of us._

Balthier peered around the corner, resting the fomalhaut on his shoulder and narrowing his eyes. There were two guards standing outside the door to Snow and Fran's cell, but as expected, they didn't look to be much of a threat. He cast a simple sleep spell on them, like Serah had before, but when he finished casting the spell he noticed the small tingling at the tips of his fingers.

The door, unfortunately, was locked. He ended up blasting the door open, not caring if he was discovered by that woman and her men, and walked in with only the smallest amount of caution. Balthier wasn't prepared for what he saw next.

Snow was laying on the floor, his skin paler than before, and Fran was attempting to heal him. There was a large stain on the side of his shirt, and even with the bandage around his waist, the blood continued to seep through. Fran looked up when Balthier walked in, and immediately he noticed the small puncture holes in her arm. Anger began to rise within him; how could he let this happen?

"I fear he is dying," she said, looking back down at the blond. "The woman, Morgana, stabbed him in an attempt to force him to reveal where you were."

Cursing quietly, Balthier got down on his knees and checked Snow's pulse; weak, as expected. "I suppose those fools gave you a serum to stop you from casting magick, am I correct?" he asked, pulling out a potion vial from one of the pouches on his belt. "How long has he been unconscious?"

"Not long."

He poured the contents of the vial onto Snow's stab wound, and slowly it began to heal. "Ice, can you hear me?" He slapped the other man's face to wake him up, scowling. "Whatever you do, don't let yourself fall, Ice. Your girl is waiting for you, and I intend to keep my promise."

Snow began to stir, barely opening his eyes when he heard Balthier's voice. Fran touched his hand, pinching his skin with her claws to wake him up completely. He yelped out, sitting up and pulling his hand from her. "Dammit! Fran, don't do that!" he exclaimed, and then winced from a twinge of pain.

"See? You didn't have to worry, Fran," Balthier said with a sigh. "Ice finds amusement in making everyone believe he's on the brink of death." He cast a quick cure spell on the wound, finishing up what the potion left behind.

"What the hell are you doing here, Balthier? If they find you, they'll-"

"There's no time for explanations. Serah's waiting for you, and it would be best not to keep her waiting." The sky pirate stood up, and Fran helped the other man stand. However, the bang of a gun shot rang out through the hall, and immediately Balthier grew tense.

"They know you are here," Fran stated, squinting her eyes.

"No," Balthier breathed. "It's not me who they have found."

He took off running, jumping over to two sleeping guards once he passed through the door way. Fran and Snow were close behind, but he didn't care whether or not they were left behind. His heart was pounding in his ears, but for some reason he wondered if Ragnarok was feeling the same as him; afraid. He skidded across the floor when he went around the corner, not losing speed as he ran for the elevator. Yet when he saw the opened doors, he froze in place. The other two caught up to him, and Balthier didn't dare close his eyes when Snow yelled out.

"_Serah_!"

Morgana turned around, revealing Serah's still form in the door way to the elevator lift. There was a hole in her chest from the bullet, blood seeping out from under her body, and the hanker chief was inches away from her finger tips. Balthier knew that it was too late. Serah was dead, and there was nothing he could have done to save her.

Snow pushed past them, falling to his knees beside his wife's body. "Serah, you can't...! Serah!" he yelled, and Balthier turned his eyes away from them. Snow lifted Serah's limp body in his arms, holding her close as tears fell from his eyes. "Serah...Don't leave me here..._please_, Serah..."

Soldiers arrived on the scene, and instantly they aimed their guns at the blond sitting on the floor. He looked up at them with vacant eyes, but he looked back down at his fallen wife when he heard someone else approaching them, already knowing who it was. Lightning stood in front of the men, her eyes widening at the sight of Serah lying in Snow's arms. Balthier stared at her, wishing that there was something he could do to help her. The memory of her weak, pathetic expression as she had watched her sister turn to crystal two years before flashed through his mind.

Morgana, smirking, said nothing when she turned away, walking past Snow and then Balthier and Fran. When she walked past Balthier, however, he could feel Ragnarok attempting to break free and wanting nothing more than to kill her. But seeing Lightning standing there, unable to move, somehow made the beast calm down and resist the temptation to murder the one who had caused her pain.

The soldiers lowered their guns, looking to each other for what to do next, and Lightning fell to her knees across from Snow. She hung her head low and cried out, and for once Balthier regretfully turned away from her, closing his eyes and walking away. Fran looked back once, but she followed her partner and remained as silent as him. The only thing they could hear was the echo of the gun shot that had killed Serah, and the quiet but haunting remnant of her breath.

"_This was how it was meant to be_."

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_This took me the entire day to write...I told you this would get angsty._


	9. Surrendering Bit by Bit

**Author's Note:** _I hate being sick. And yet I still managed to write out another chapter...Huh. Well, the entire time I wrote this chapter I listened to _'Don't Take Your Love Away From Me' _by VAST. :D Angst, much?_

_Bunches of hugs to __**The Giant Daifuku**__! Be prepared for some serious bromance. :D I haven't written that since the story before this!  
_

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Chapter Nine

Surrendering Bit by Bit

_What good is a world when all you fought for is lost? What do you do when everything you once loved vanishes into thin air?_

It was night time when Balthier returned to the cave he and Serah - no, it was Fran who was there now - shared. She held out her hand to him once their eyes met, but he only walked past her and sat down in front of the warm fire. It was raining outside the cavern; it had been since the day of Serah's funeral. Not that he attended, of course. He, Fran and Snow were still considered as "wanted criminals", even though Morgana had let them escape after the girl's death. Instead he watched from the shadows, his eyes never leaving Lightning the entire time she stood over the grave.

Snow had disappeared once they left the Sanctum's head quarters, and Balthier knew that it was better to let him be rather than force him into a life of hiding away from everything and everyone. Then again, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave Snow on his own after what had happened; losing someone you loved can take its toll on the heart and mind.

"Is something bothering you?" Fran asked, noticing the way her partner seemed to be fidgeting with the lightning-bolt necklace. "You have only said a few words to me since arriving here. It's been nearly a moon's time."

"What do you want me to say? Apologize for bringing you to this world of Hell?" Balthier scoffed. "Everywhere I go, death seems to follow me. If you don't leave me now, Fran, I'm afraid your next on its list."

"I have been on that list many a time now, yet here I am."

"Then just wait. Ragnarok will make its final appearance, and this entire world will be destroyed." He stared down at the necklace, wondering what would happen if he took it off at that moment. "But when that time comes, I'll make sure that woman gets what she deserves. Her death will be the worst of them all."

Fran closed her eyes. "I do not think you would allow that to happen."

"Someone _died_ because of me, Fran. If I hadn't brought Serah with me, she would still be alive." Balthier stood up, scowling. "Those who fail to understand that will meet the same fate."

He stormed out of the cavern, and when Fran opened her eyes she saw that it was not her partner who had left her behind. It never was.

**

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The streets of Gran Pulse's more rural area made it seem like he was back on Cocoon. Bright lights flashed upon buildings' entry ways, and the only thing Balthier could hear were the mindless chatterings of the crowd around him. He wore a coat over his blouse, its hood covering the upper part of his face, and he kept his hands in its pockets as he walked past the people. Despite the rain pouring on them, everyone seemed as lively as ever. How quickly things had changed in such a short time, he noted.

It was hard to remember why he was even there in the first place. Leaving Fran alone was something he promised he would never do again, yet there he was. It seemed that Ragnarok was leading him away from her more and more each day, waiting until it was time to bring the end to those in need of it.

Through the corner of his eye he saw the familiar outline of a trench coat behind one of the windows of the bar; sitting in the corner, alone. Without even knowing it, Balthier walked right in and stood behind Snow, waiting for him to notice that he was even there. Of course, the fact that the blond was partially drunk may have hindering his keen senses at that time.

"Ice," Balthier said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing here?" How was he able to stay out in the open like that? The Sanctum had posted a bill for whoever could find the 'three from the other world', making it even harder for them to try to find a way to get back to Ivalice. Yet Snow was still able to just sit in a bar and drink himself to death. It didn't make any sense at all.

Snow whipped around and moved to punch the sky pirate, yet instead he ended up stumbling to the floor. Sighing heavily, Balthier got down on his knees and pulled the blond up into a sitting position, avoiding another fist that came his way. He could see how much Snow had changed by the event of his wife's death; there was a more distinct amount of stubble on his chin, his eyes had a gray, empty look to them and his hair was sticking out from under his bandanna. Needless to say, it was hard to even recognize him.

"Ice," he repeated, "do you honestly believe that you can kill me?"

"Leave me alone," Snow slurred, pushing Balthier's hand away. "I don't need _you_ here to ruin everythin' again..."

"Is there you've been all this time? For an entire month?" Balthier shook his head. "Ice, you can't live like this. One day you'll end up killing yourself if you continue this..." He eyed the few empty bottles on the table beside them. "..._habit_ of yours."

Snow stared at him with half-lidded eyes. "That's the plan. S'no use livin' here anymore without..." It seemed like he found it hard to say her name, unless he'd forgotten her already. "Without..._Serah_..."

"It's time you moved on, then," Balthier said, standing up straight. "Drinking yourself into a stupor every night doesn't solve your problems. At least find some other way to express your pitiful sorrow."

"I don't _want_ to move on!" he yelled, clumsily getting to his feet and grabbed the front of the sky pirate's coat. The people in the bar looked at them, suspicious. "You don't know _anything_, Balthier! You wouldn't understand! When was the last time you lost someone you loved, huh?"

"Snow, you don't have to yell-"

"Like hell I don't! Because of _you_ and your damn issues, Serah's _gone_! _You_ killed her! It's all your damn fault I'm forced to live like this! Before you came along, I was _happy_. I had Serah, I had a _life_...Now I've lost both, and it's all your fault, Balthier!"

Balthier calmly moved Snow's hands away from him, and then fixed his cuffs. "Always letting your heart get the best of you...Come along, let's get you cleaned up." He placed a hand on the blond's shoulder, only to be pushed away yet again.

"I don't need _your _help," Snow snapped, and then he stumbled out of the bar ahead of him. Balthier sighed heavily, ignoring the glares from all the people in the bar as he followed his comrade into the street.

He managed to convince Snow to go back with him to where Fran was waiting, though he ended up practically dragging the taller man all the way there. Fran had found a small creek nearby the cavern, and stood guard while Balthier helped Snow clean himself off. There was an awkward silence between them, and it wasn't because of the fact that Snow wasn't wearing any clothes as he sat in the water, or the fact that Balthier was the one assisting him instead of Fran.

The sun was beginning to appear behind the mountains, and Cocoon's crystallized form was starting to shine again. Balthier silently stared at it for a few seconds until Snow spoke up.

"A month, huh? Didn't think I was out of it for that long..."

"Odd how quickly time passes by," Balthier answered, tossing the wet cloth onto Snow's head. "Are you sober enough to talk maturely now?"

Snow nodded.

"I suppose there's not much I can say to apologize for what I've done, Ice. I didn't want to bring her along with me, but she wouldn't let me leave without a fight. You are right - it _is_ my fault that she's gone. If I had the chance to change things, I wouldn't have let her die." He paused, waiting for a reaction from the other man. "Ragnarok has constantly been sneaking up on me, taking over my thoughts and actions when I least expect it. It didn't want Serah to die, which means I truly am at fault for what happened. I told you to move on, when it's really me who needs to let it go. Serah is gone, Lightning is no longer on our side, you want to kill me, and Fran is stuck in this world. All because of myself, and Ragnarok."

"What makes you think I want to kill you?" Snow laughed weakly. "I don't think Serah would want me to try and hurt you, even if you're the reason for her death. I just...needed something else to blame. You were the only one there who I could really lash out at...I'm sorry about that, Balthier."

"You're a terrible drunk, by the way. At least choose something more eccentric, not some cheap drink in a sleezy bar."

"I take it that you're experienced at it? Next time I should ask you for tips, then."

Balthier smirked. "All in good time."

Snow looked toward Cocoon, sighing. "Do you think they're watching over us?"

"Hm?"

"Fang and Vanille. It's been a while since I've thought about them. Not since they talked to me in Ivalice." He tilted his head slightly. "Sometimes I wonder if they really know what's going on, that they know exactly when they're needed. I know they did a lot by saving Cocoon and giving us a new home, but is that all they can do for us?"

Resting his head against the stone wall, Balthier looked away as Snow stood up and got his clothes back on. "The rest is up to us, I think. What do you think your Serah would want you to do? Sit here and wait for a sign from a god, or be the hero you always call yourself and save the day?"

_The Destroyer of Ragnarok, and the beast itself. Doomed to do battle and destroy each other on the Day of Wrath._

Snow turned around, meeting Balthier's gaze. All of the sudden, there were large tears running down his face when he started to sob. Balthier stared at the blond with a blank, confused expression, not knowing what was exactly going on.

"I can't do it," Snow sobbed, leaning his forehead against a tree and shaking his head. "Being the hero means I've gotta find some way to get rid of Ragnarok. A-and that means, I've gotta kill you, too..."

The sky pirate stood up, dusting off the front of his blouse. "Snow-"

"Why do I have to be the hero? I never signed up for this job, but everyone turns to me thinking that I know what to do. There's gotta be some other way to end all this, there has to be!"

Balthier ran a hand through his hair, awkwardly glancing in the other direction. "Look, Snow," he said, "one way or another everyone has to sacrifice something."

"So, what? We gotta give up everything, let a friend die, and then everything's gonna be all right?" Snow shook his head. "I don't want to see anyone else die. Not me, you, Fran, Light...No one else! I've already lost Serah...I don't want to lose you, too, Balthier..."

"You won't lose me, Ice," he answered, taking a step forward. "If anything, the only thing you'll lose is a chance at a life here. I know that this is only my opinion, but this world isn't somewhere I'd want to live forever. At least Ivalice isn't afraid of anything that's different or 'other-worldly'. And, remember your dear queen of Dalmasca? I'm sure she wouldn't want to see her knight in shining...trench coat give up like this." He smirked slightly. "If we manage to stop all this madness, we're going back to Ivalice, whether you want to or not. So stop being a sobbing mess and be the hero you've always been."

Snow wiped his eyes, turning around and facing the sky pirate. Without warning, he embraced the other man and nearly lifted him off the ground. Fran looked toward them when she heard her partner yelp in surprise, but she smiled the smallest bit when she saw the two.

"For god's sake, Ice, put me down!"

**

* * *

**

Lightning walked down the steps to her house and turned her eyes toward Cocoon. Each day she walked down those steps she would look to the crystallized structure and wonder if Fang and Vanille knew of what she'd done. She had given up on remembering her true past with Balthier, allowed her comrades to be arrested, and didn't cry at her sister's funeral. She just stood there and waited; waited for the end to come.

Would they be ashamed of her? All she ever wanted was to feel like she belonged, but all she had done was exile herself even more from those around her.

Brigadier General Morgana was conducting a search for the three fugitives from the other world, and Lightning was to lead the soldiers throughout the village. If Balthier, Snow and Fran were found, they would be sentenced to death and be given a public execution. It was an all too familiar feeling, knowing that she'd be condemning someone to death just because they were a so-called monster.

_It was like the whole deal with the l'Cie. We were ordered to be killed on sight if found, and if anyone helped us they, too, would be killed._

What if she had been wrong all along? If Serah was willing to die for Balthier, then perhaps he wasn't who she had thought he was. What if Ragnarok was nothing more than a figment of their imagination, and Balthier was just the victim in the situation? They'd be killing an innocent man, branded as something he necessarily wasn't.

Now she understood how Fang had felt when she couldn't remember her past. All Lightning wanted was to know the truth, to know that there was nothing wrong with how she felt.

She wanted to understand why she felt so conflicted, caught between the wrong and the right.

"Lightning!"

She looked up at the sound of Snow's voice, eyes narrowing when he saw him running toward her. "Snow?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? You do know that if you're caught, you-"

He interrupted her once he was standing right across from her. "Light, just give me one minute to explain everything!" he stated, out of breath. "It's about Ragnarok, and-"

"I want nothing to do with that monster," she snapped. "I thought I made that clear when I had you arrested."

"You don't understand, sis! I figured this all out last night. We need to find Balthier and bring him to the Sanctum's head quarters _now_."

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were all about protecting him. You always said that 'heroes needed to stay together'. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"What happened with Serah - it made me realize that there's more that I can do to save us all. You were right. I shouldn't protect a monster like Ragnarok, and that's why we need to kill Ragnarok in order to save everyone!"

At first she only stared at him, but eventually she nodded. "All right," she answered, quietly. "Where can I find him?"

"He and Fran are hiding out in the forest, in a cave somewhere near the _Strahl_."

Lightning cast her eyes downward for a moment, then walked down the road without another word. Snow watched her leave, and once she was out of sight, Morgana stood in his place; smirking twistedly.

"This is exactly what you wanted. Isn't it, Lindzei?"

**

* * *

**

_Knight in shining trench coat...:D That makes me giggle._


	10. Fighting Fate

**Author's Note:** _Almost done with this story...We're heading into the final part...And, look! It's the preview from the end of __**Bad Bromance**__! I'm so happy to finally use it in the actual story._

_Oh, you two. You guys are too good to me! I love you, __**Joshua Chung**__ and __**The Giant Daifuku**__!_

**

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**

**2** 4

Chapter Ten

Fighting Fate

_There are times when I never doubted myself; not for even one second. But because of you, I kept finding myself unable to figure out why I was doing everything I could to see you dead._

"Remind me again _why_ you had to hide the auracite on the ship, Fran. This just makes things much more harder than I had planned, to be honest. Do you live to make me suffer, my dear?"

Fran peered out from the bushes, looking to where Snow stood behind a tall tree. "Would you rather I gave it to those soldiers?" she asked, smirking at her partner. "You usually enjoy a challenge. This is just another time for the leading man to shine, is it not?"

"Stealing my own ship doesn't sound very exciting to me. At least this will be harder than it was the time we stole it in Rabanastre," Balthier answered, wiping the dirt off of the fomalhaut. "I'll have to tell Vaan and Penelo to get a better security system the next time we're in that city."

"Another task added to our list."

Snow went on ahead to take care of any of the soldiers guarding the air ship, while Balthier and Fran hung back. It seemed far too easy to get the _Strahl_ back in their possession, especially since it was considered as a 'tool from the other world', therefore marking it as a dangerous weapon. To think, in just an hour or two, they would be on their way back to Ivalice. Though it didn't feel right to leave so suddenly, they had no other choice. If the Sanctum was after Ragnarok, then there was nothing they could do escape get the damned god away from Pulse as quickly as possible.

As for leaving Lightning behind, Balthier wished there was some way he could convince her to go with them. But she hated Ragnarok more than anything, which meant she wanted him dead just as much as the beast. They _were_ the same being, after all.

He tightened his grip on the fomalhaut when he squinted his eyes, staring at the spot where Snow once stood. Fran sniffed the air, and Balthier almost asked if anything was wrong. He didn't have to, of course, because there was a sudden yell in the distance, followed by a gun shot.

Neither of them wasted any time chasing after the sound, and if it wasn't for Fran's presence and the possibility of Lightning being among those guarding the air ship, Balthier would have let Ragnarok have a chance at killing any soldiers in their way. Something was urging him onward, ordering him to allow the beast to take over and condemn those who deserved it.

Balthier stopped in mid step when he saw Snow standing over the unconscious forms of the guards, grinning at the two as if nothing was wrong. It was nothing more than a false alarm, it seemed.

"Ice, must you always cause destruction wherever you go?" Balthier asked, shaking his head when he looked down at the guards. "You almost had Fran worried about you again."

Fran sent him a glare, her lip curling in slight amusement, nonetheless. Snow shrugged his shoulders. "It was either that, or have you bore them to death with one of your 'leading man' rants," he answered. "They always put me to sleep."

"If I remember correctly, my most recent 'rant' was when the _Bahamut _was about to crash into Rabanastre. You remember that, don't you, Fran? How Ice here demanded that I return to him as soon as possible? Definitely not 'bored to death', wouldn't you think?"

"He denies more than he wants," she agreed, turning his eyes in the blond's direction. "We should leave while we still can. No doubt more soldiers will arrive when they realize their guards have fallen."

"First, we find the auracite. Without it, we can't go anywhere."

The two men stood in the cock pit of the _Strahl_ while Fran searched for the place where she hid the second half of the Cache of Glabados, yet they didn't say a word to each other. Snow was staring intently out the front window, most likely trying to understand why he was so prepared to leave his real home behind once again, and Balthier leaned against the wall, keeping himself calm until the time was right.

When she returned, Fran held three crystals in her hands: the rose and the tear drop crystal in one, and the green auracite in the other. She had a concerned look in her eyes that only Balthier could see.

"Something wrong, Fran?" he asked, stepping forward to speak with her.

"I don't understand why I didn't see the truth before," she stated. "These crystals Penelo had given you, they are more than mere stones. _Auracite_. Much like the Cache."

Snow's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" he exclaimed, stunned. "How can you tell?"

"They resemble the crystals used to summon Eidolons," Balthier replied. "That may be the purpose they hold in this world, but in Ivalice they hold a power much greater. Like deifacted nethicite, almost. I should have known - those crystals are more devious than they appear to be. But all auracite has a distinct purpose...What could power could these hold, I wonder..."

"Hold on." Snow took the tear drop crystal from Fran and looked at it more closely. "I think I'm...remembering something about this. Something I read in a book Ashe gave to me. '_Magicite, though formed by the gods Undying, holds the true existence of beings greater than Man. With the Stones, the gods can be separated from their Chosen, hereby giving them a life of their own_'!" His eyes lit up, and he eagerly grabbed Balthier by the arm. "Don't you get it, Balthier? Auracite can separate Ragnarok from-"

There was a loud banging on the door, and Fran immediately hid the other two stones in the pouch on her belt while Snow hid the tear drop crystal behind his back. From behind the door, Balthier could hear the foot steps rushing toward them.

"_Open this door_! _We've got you surrounded, Ragnarok_!"

**

* * *

**

"I must say, you've led us on quite the chase, Ffamran."

Balthier couldn't believe what he was seeing. The man standing in front of he, Fran and Snow wasn't meant to be there. He should have died with the rest of the Pulse citizens five-hundred years before, when Ragnarok had attempted to destroy Cocoon and failed.

How was it that Oerba Dia Cid was standing there as if nothing had changed? How was he still _alive_?

The Sanctum soldiers kept a tight grip on Balthier, knowing that he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if he had the chance. Fran and Snow were apprehended as well, though they were kept a short distance away from the sky pirate. Cid was looking down at him, smirking out of amusement.

"You were supposed to have died the moment Ragnarok took flight," Balthier snarled. "How is it that you still live, when so many others died that day?"

"Those two girls weren't the only ones who were branded as l'Cie that day," the man answered, and he revealed the Pulse l'Cie brand on his neck. "Anima chose another to bear a different burden, the task of destroying Ragnarok if he chose to betray her."

"I'm afraid the title of Ragnarok's destroyer is already claimed. You're nothing more than a pawn of the Sanctum now."

Cid arched an eyebrow. "And who are you to talk of pawns of the gods? Look around. Are these people you call your allies nothing more than _your_ pawns, Ffamran? You brought them to this world, condemning them to a death brought by your hand. Just as you had with those innocent people in Ivalice. The ones Ragnarok killed just so the two of you could survive."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Snow yelled, continuously trying to pull away from his captors. Balthier was far too deep in thought to speak any longer. "How do you know about Ragnarok?"

"I once lived in Oerba, before the time of the fal'Cie and their pets," Cid explained. "The fal'Cie Anima granted me the power to live until Ragnarok's demise, and therefore here I stand. I waited years to hear of the god's rebirth, and much to my surprise, I found him in the dream realm of Gran Pulse over five-hundred years before. You ran with those two girls, escaping my grasp and your death. Yet now, Ragnarok, I can set you free. Free from this world and the after. This is the wish of Lindzei."

Snow's eyes uneasily met Balthier's, though the sky pirate looked away the moment Fran turned her attention toward him.

"General Morgana has a proposition for you: surrender yourself to the Sanctum, and your comrades will be free to return to their world. Refuse, and they will not be the only ones to suffer."

"Where is she?" Balthier asked. "Where's Lightning?"

"Ah, yes. Captain Farron. The only one able to tame the beast." Cid folded his arms across his chest. "She is with another squadron, searching for you as we speak. Won't she be troubled when she hears of your _untimely _death...I would expect her to want to follow you into the after life."

Snow scowled even more, but Fran remained silent. Without another word, Balthier gave the man one nod, and the soldiers holding him back let him go. He closed his eyes to avoid both Snow and Fran when they were led back to the _Strahl_, but he could still hear the blond yelling; demanding that he stop being a martyr. Cid smirked, and the soldiers pulled the sky pirate to his feet.

"The General has given you the chance to live your last day as you see fit, but hear this: the moment you choose to betray this pact, we won't hesitate to cut you down."

Cid walked past him, and Balthier opened his eyes once he could no longer feel the presence of a hume with him. And in the midst of his soul, Ragnarok smiled.

**

* * *

**

"No good," Lightning said as she led the small group of soldiers out of the village. "He's not here, either. Why do I get the feeling Snow is trying to lead us away from Ragnarok instead of leading us to it?"

None of her soldiers answered her; not that she expected an answer, anyway. Resting her gunblade on her shoulder and looking toward Cocoon, she wondered what would happen if she just decided to go home for the night. She wasn't in the mood to chase Balthier around Pulse, and even though it had been ordered of her to find and capture Ragnarok, she wasn't sure if that was what she really wanted to do. Serah had believed in him, so why couldn't she do the same?

"We should call it a day," she stated when she faced the soldiers, after sheathing her blade. "A storm's coming, by the looks of the sky right now. Even if Ragnarok was out here, it's probably hiding out somewhere for the night."

They saluted her and left for the head quarters, and for once Lightning was glad to be alone. After Serah's death, her fellow Guardian Corps female soldiers had constantly asked her if she was "doing all right", or if she needed a place to stay for the night. They were only trying to help, she understood that much, but it wasn't _their_ help that she wanted.

_Maybe all I wanted was to see him again, to ask him why he had chosen to hide so much from me. Yeah, I didn't remember a thing about him, but being with Balthier two years ago had changed me. I just wished I knew how much._

"Captain Farron."

Lightning turned around at the sound of her commanding officer's voice, surprised to see Morgana standing there with a content look on her pale face. Neither of them bothered to salute each other.

"You sent your soldiers back to base," the woman said. "Why?"

"Ragnarok's not here," Lightning answered, frowning. "Snow gave me a heading on where the beast is, but when we looked there, we found nothing. This is just a wild-goose chase, if you ask me."

"Well, of course Ragnarok is no longer there. We found it already, and the sky pirate has agreed to our proposition."

The captain narrowed her eyes. "Proposition?"

Morgana nodded, tilting her head to the side. "Have you not been told? Both Ragnarok and its host will be dead by this eventide, and the viera and Snow Villiers will be returned to the other world at the event of the beast's death."

"What? How could Balthier agree to that? He always said that the leading man never-"

"Do you really believe in all those stories, Captain Farron?" Morgana smirked. "There are times when even the hero must sacrifice himself for the greater good, even if the damsel in distress _begs_ him not to leave her behind. Tell me, Farron, are you the damsel in distress? Will you allow your hero to leave you behind?"

Lightning scowled, almost reaching for her gunblade behind her back. But she stopped in mid-motion, knowing that if she raised her blade against a higher up, she would be just as damned as Snow and the others. Instead, she turned away from Morgana and ran off down the road. She needed to find Balthier, and for some reason she knew exactly where he was.

_One day._

**

* * *

**

The rain-clouds darkened the sky as the villagers rushed to find shelter in the out skirts of the Oerba village. A storm was coming, that was certain.

The waves at his feet were going back and forth with every passing moment, reminding Balthier of what he was hiding from. But he knew he wouldn't be able to run much longer; not from something so great, so terrible. Was death truly that frightening, even though he had faced it so many times before? He looked down at the sand and the water seeping through his leather boots. It wouldn't be long now, he reminded himself.

Snow and Fran would be returning to Ivalice soon, and he wasn't troubled by the thought that they would be leaving without him. For some reason, he had known all along that he wouldn't return to his home world. He had just refused to admit it until then.

Just as he looked toward the endless sea before him, he heard the clicking of a gun from behind and the quiet, graceful foot steps that followed, as expected.

"You're late."

Balthier turned around, staring at Lightning with vacant, near-dead eyes. She held her gunblade toward him, the barrel of it aimed directly at his expressionless stare. Her lips quirked in the smallest of scowls, and her aqua eyes stared into whatever was left of his soul.

"You're going to give up and die," she spat in but a whisper. "Is that it?"

He turned away from her, facing the waves once more as she closed her eyes. He took in a faint breath, gazing at the darkening clouds. "It's time to end this," he told her; hopeless. Surrendering. Giving up, as she had said. He had stood in this spot in his dream, and it was where he would meet his end. The leading man turned villain, killed at the hands of his leading lady. How ironic.

Lightning opened her eyes, taking one step forward. "So it is."

He didn't flinch when he heard the gun shot ring out around them. There was no pain, unless he had somehow willed it away with a single thought. There was nothing but the echo of the shot and the flutter of wings as creatures flew out from the trees. Lightning gasped, and he could feel her fear when she suddenly spun around and aimed her gunblade toward the one who had actually fired the shot.

"How generously you've led us to our renegade god, Farron," Morgana stated, resting her rifle on her shoulder. "You hear one murmur of his surrender, and you go back to him as if nothing has changed. And you dare turn your sword against me? Captain Farron, I am most displeased with your betrayal."

"You didn't need me to lead you to him," Lightning retorted. "So why are you here now?"

"You wish to see him live, don't you? Two years ago, you almost let yourself fall for this man. And now, you still feel the same."

Balthier narrowed his eyes. Who was this Morgana, really? How could she know so much about their past? Unless...

_'She is not who she claims_,_'_ Ragnarok hissed to him. _'That woman - she is the host of the trickster god Lindzei. They seek us dead.'_

"Lindzei?" the sky pirate breathed, and Lightning immediately looked back at him, eyes wide in confusion.

Morgana kept her composure. "Ragnarok is the one who truly killed your sister, Farron. Do you dare let him live when other lives have been lost in his name? If he had never returned, your Serah would still be alive."

Lightning met his gaze, and he was reminded of the look she had given him the first time he had been called Ragnarok; when the l'Cie had wondered about the truth of his presence in their world. He knew the truth now, and that was all that matter. She understood that, too. And so she raised her arm and slammed the hilt of her blade against his neck, and the last thing Balthier saw was her silhouette leaving him behind.

_Because of you, I doubted myself. I doubted Serah, Snow, and I even doubted you._

**

* * *

**

_Hm. Since when can Ragnarok talk to Balthier? o.O_


	11. Caged

**Author's Note:** _So, just to be funny...In my FF12 game, I finally got the Ragnarok sword and the moment I got it, I made Balthier use it. And the whole time I was watching him hit things with it, I was thinking, "Oh my god, the ironyyyyy! lol!". I am insane, yes._

_And, my loves, they finally released concept art for Fang's version of Ragnarok, and the complete version summoned at the end of FF13. I pretty much jumped for joy - I've been waiting so long to finally have a real reference to look at when doodling random things. Yes, I do draw. :D I draw fairly well, too.  
_

_Cookies to __**The Giant Daifuku**__. :P Either chocolate chip, or snicker doodle. I haven't decided which.  
_

**

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**

**2** 4

Chapter Eleven

Caged

_Maybe everything I had done wasn't for the best. Maybe all I was doing was changing the way things should have gone._

The first thing Snow did the moment he and Fran were pushed back into the _Strahl_ was look in the small collection of books Balthier had under the bed he shared with his partner. It wasn't too late to save the sky pirate, not after he had finally discovered a way to save him. The viera patiently stood behind him, holding any books he happened to toss aside.

"Balthier had to have kept something about Ragnarok, right?" he asked, flipping through the pages of a thick book. "He always seemed to know more than any of us."

"We found these in Draklor," Fran explained, "during one of our heists while we were away. It was there that we discovered how to use the auracite."

"Then there's gotta be something about how we can use it to separate Ragnarok from Balthier. I'm not letting this one chance slip from my fingers - not when we've gone this far." He tossed another book aside, and Fran caught it with ease.

She arched an eyebrow. "And you intend to rescue him?" she asked.

"Balthier came back for us when those guys had us, and it's my job to return the favor, right?" Snow squinted his eyes as he read over the page. "Hey, this is his hand-writing, isn't it? When did Balthier write all this down?"

Fran looked over his shoulder, taking the book from him. "_'And lo, the viper Lindzei bore fangs into the pristine soil of our Gran Pulse; despoiled the land and from it crafted a cocoon both ghastly and unclean. Lies spilled forth from the serpent's tongue: 'Within this shell lies paradise.' Men heard these lies and were seduced and led away. O cursed are the fools who trust a snake and turn their backs on the bounty of Pulse's hallowed land! For those who dwell in that cocoon are not Men, but slaves of the demon Lindzei. Ye who honor Pulse: rise unto the heavens, and cast down the viper's nest!_ _Author, unknown'_."

"Why do I get the feeling Balthier's been hiding something from us? Or, maybe he's not even the one who wrote this. Ragnarok's been at it again, huh?" Snow frowned. "Lindzei's the god that supposedly created Cocoon and killed all the people who lived on Pulse five hundred years ago. What's he gotta do with all this?"

"The gods, they have hume forms, do they not? Fell Lindzei is on this world, and he has returned to finish the deed done years before."

"How do you know that?"

She pointed a clawed finger to a note on the corner of the page Balthier had written. Snow rolled his eyes, closing the book.

"I'll never understand why you sky pirates seem to enjoy making me look bad," he told her, getting to his feet. "Can't give me a break, can you?"

While Fran left to check the engines, Snow went to the cockpit and stared out the front window. He fiddled with the tear drop crystal - or was it auracite? He had been given it for a reason; to destroy Ragnarok. He would use the crystal to separate the beast from Balthier, and then he would strike it down and end everything. It sounded easy, but he knew that there would be one person standing in his way.

Lightning had changed. Without her memories of Balthier and of what really happened when they saved Cocoon, she was just as she was before it all happened; a soldier protecting what she was told. Serah wasn't there to snap her out of whatever daze she was in, and it seemed that Balthier had given up on life completely. Without those two, Lightning wouldn't do anything else but try to follow her orders from that woman, Morgana.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that if he moved to destroy Ragnarok, Lightning would get between them. That vision he had so long ago of the two made him wonder if the feelings Lightning had for Balthier were really for the monster. Even Balthier had expressed his suspicions over the matter.

"What do you think, Serah?" Snow asked, sighing. "What should I do?"

Fran sauntered past him, sitting down in the co-pilot's seat. "It seems Ragnarok has left us another message," she stated. "Directions to the main air ship of the Guardian Corps. It knew we would be saving Balthier."

"Uh, Fran? Why are you sitting there? Shouldn't you be taking control of the ship?"

She looked back at him, confused. "Do you not trust yourself? You're the one that will fly us there. You wanted to be a sky pirate, didn't you?"

He sat down in the pilot's seat, anxiously glancing at all the controls. "You know, I was joking when I said that. I'm just a rebel turned knight, remember? I can't be a sky pirate."

"All sky pirates start differently. How do you think my partner and I became this way?" Fran gave him a rare smile, turning her eyes toward the sky. "We all have different paths, different destinies. It is our focus as to what path we choose."

Snow turned toward her and grinned. "Time for the heroes to save the day once again."

**

* * *

**

Why did all empires felt the need to create maddening air ships?

Balthier had spent the entire night counting the number of times the guard gave him odd looks, since there was not much else he could do in his prison cell. It was even smaller than the one Fran and Snow had been kept in, but at least he was able to see through the window and door.

When he had woken up from unconsciousness, it wasn't hard to realize where he was. The Guardian Corps - or rather, the Sanctum had rebuilt their precious _Palamecia_ and used it as their headquarters whenever they were on the move. Being there reminded him of the time he, Sazh and Vanille escaped their prison cell before finding the others. Of course, that event only made him remember the first time he had been called Ragnarok by Dysley. That was when everything had made a turn for the worse.

The door opened, and Lightning stepped into the cell. The guard eyed her for a moment, and Balthier resisted the urge to slap the man upside the head for looking at her in such a way.

"Come on," she stated. "Time to move."

He stared at her, almost smirking. "Not trying to help me escape, are you?" he asked.

Lightning scowled. "I've got orders to bring you to the general's quarters. Apparently we've got visitors."

"Visitors?" The moment he said that, the _Strahl_ shakily soared past the larger air ship with a small group of fighter ships following it. Balthier sighed heavily and cursed under his breath. "That oaf is going to destroy my ship one of these days..."

**

* * *

**

"Don't these guys ever quit?" Snow snarled, steering the _Strahl_ below the _Palamecia_. "All we wanna do is rescue Balthier and get the hell outta here! But, _no_, let's just chase the intruders around until our engines die!"

Fran pointed toward the docking area on the outside of the Sanctum's ship. "There," she said. "Keep her steady when you dock. The fighters won't be able to catch us in there."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!"

The _Strahl_ jerked to the right, and one of the fighter air ships crashed into the _Palamecia_. Snow grinned like a mad man when he watched the other air ships retreat, and Fran merely shook her head when he started to laugh. As soon as the ship was in the docking bay, the two of them grabbed their weapons and walked out. As expected, they were greeted by Guardian Corps soldiers the moment they stepped out of the _Strahl_.

"You know, I kinda wish we had Ragnarok here right now," Snow murmured to the viera. "At least then we wouldn't have to fight these guys on our own."

Fran took one the first soldier with one shot, using the fomalhaut instead of her usual bow and arrows. Her upper lip curled in disgust when he fell, and she spun around in time to kick another to the floor. One tried to shoot her from a distance, but Snow managed to cast a blizzard spell to freeze them in place before they could. He grabbed the soldier's large rifle and flung it toward three men behind him, and he nearly laughed when they fell off the edge of the dock.

"L'Cie!" a female soldier yelled, seeing that Snow had cast magick. "Take 'em down!"

"Dammit, for the last time I'm not a l'Cie anymore!" he muttered, taking a step back so he stood at Fran's side. She held the fomalhaut at the ready, aimed directly at the soldiers inching toward them.

"This fight cannot be won," she quietly stated. "They will take us to Balthier, I am sure. Here, we surrender."

Snow's lips formed into a tight frown, and he reluctantly held up his arms when a gun was pointed right at his face.

_When in doubt, surrender._

**

* * *

**

He and Fran were led to a large chamber near to bridge of the _Palamecia._ The room was dark at first, and Snow had to squint his eyes to focus on the silhouettes standing at the other side. He could see a large glass cage that was set up in front of them, and there were tubes, connected to a machine on the wall, coming out from all four walls. Almost immediately Fran tensed up; she took in a sharp breath, her nose twitching at the smell.

"Mist," she breathed.

The lights flickered from above, and the room was dimly lit up as soon as they stopped walking. Snow took a sudden step forward when he saw Balthier calmly sitting in the glass cage, staring directly at them with a saddened smirk on his face. Morgana had entered the room as well, and following close behind her were the man called Cid and Lightning. The female captain refused to meet Snow's glare, and she didn't dare look at Balthier's pitiful expression when she walked past.

"You're here earlier than we expected, Snow Villiers," Morgana greeted. "But at least you are here in time to witness the arrival of our belated Day of Wrath."

"I'm getting tired of hearing 'bout this so-called 'Day of Wrath'," Snow retorted. "Been hearing 'bout it for years, and I haven't seen it yet."

Cid scoffed. "All in due time," he murmured. "The true god of this realm will reawaken and grant us eternity."

"Eternity is an illusion," Fran told them, her dark eyes glancing around the room. "All we have is one chance at life, given to us so that we might find true meaning. This, what you search for, is not."

"Mindless words of fallen viera," Morgana replied, and then she looked toward Balthier. "I wonder if you have realized what is to be done on this day."

"If you seek death, then it will be given to you freely, _Lindzei_."

The corner of Morgana's mouth twitched. "So you _do_ understand. Then we may carry on without any further delays."

A soldier walked over and handed her a green stone, which Snow recognized as the auracite they had used to leave Ivalice in the first place. He had thought that it had been destroyed in the crash, and yet there it was. He looked to Balthier once again, wondering if he, or Ragnarok, knew that all along.

"Auracite," the female general stated. "Gifts from the Occuria granting power to weak-minded humes. Yet in this realm we chose a different tactic. The fal'Cie took Men and gave them the strength to do what we could not. However, they chose a hume born not of this world to become our savior, Ragnarok." She closed her eyes. "_'Come Day of Wrath, O Pulse l'Cie. Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn. Cast thy light upon the souls of the departed, that fallen souls might bear our plea...to hasten the Divine's return. Descend, merciless lord. Embrace thy fate, thine home to shatter. O Piteous Wanderer, Ragnarok'_. It is now that we find this Day."

"Yeah? And how are you gonna get it?" Snow asked, uneasily smirking.

"Cocoon will be destroyed, as it was meant to be. Ragnarok will come forth and shatter that world," Cid explained. "And with the sacrifice of the chosen l'Cie bound to it, we shall find our Maker. Lindzei has willed this, and Etro will fall."

"With the auracite, we will gather the Mist and kill Ragnarok's vessel. The beast shall awaken, and our task will be complete," Morgana continued, setting the green stone inside the machine on the wall. "No one will interfere this time. Not even a fallen l'Cie unable to complete the Focus given to him."

"You can't just let him die!" Snow yelled, pulling away from the soldiers. "This is murder! Killing Balthier won't solve a damn thing!"

"Oh, but it _will_," Morgana answered, glancing in the direction of the cage. "At the event of his death, Ragnarok grows stronger. Soon the Divine will be whole, and Cocoon will be shattered." She reached for the lever, eying Lightning's tense form carefully. "This is how hist'ry was meant to be. The goddess Etro shan't interfere this time, nor shall her pitiful l'Cie..."

Snow eyes were only focused on Balthier, and he continued to try and break free of his restraints. Fran closed her eyes, turning her head away from them all.

"Isn't there something left that's worth living for, Balthier?" Snow asked. "Just _one_ thing."

Balthier moved his gaze toward Lightning, and she hung her head low. "It's...not always about where your heart lies," he answered. "It's about what you're willing to do to change what you've done, and prevent what you're going to do."

"Balthier-"

Morgana rested her hand on the lever, her eyes unmoving as she gazed at the two held back by her soldiers. "Our Day of Wrath is come," she stated, and just as Snow broke free of his restraints, she pulled the lever.

Mist shot out from the tubes, clouding the glass cage, and hid Balthier from sight. Fran fell to her knees, weakened by the Mist and losing control over herself, and Snow rushed to her aid. He held her close, shielding her from the magick as Cid laughed. And Lightning, staring at the cage, stood still.

**

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**

_"_You poor thing._"_

_Ragnarok opened his eyes the moment he heard the angelic voice around him. Where was he? He remembered seeing the Oerban woman summon him, watching as her young companion cried, and then Cocoon's shell being cracked in the sky. But now, he was nowhere. Lost. Alone._

_"_Who are you?_" he demanded, clenching his fists. "_How _dare_ you tear me from my task! What is it you want with me?_"_

_"_I am sorry. You must understand, Ragnarok. Is destroying the other world what you truly wanted? Did you not ask for a fate that did not condemn you?_"_

_He lowered his gaze. "_I asked to be redeemed before I had the chance to damn myself. And now, you have taken that chance from me!_"_

_"_No, I have given you your redemption. You must wait._"_

_"_Wait? For what? For another god to claim my power and attempt to use me as a mere puppet?_" Ragnarok let out a weak laugh. "_The fools called the fal'Cie will learn their place. I, the Divine, shan't be caged any longer. They will find their Day of Wrath, and when they do...I will destroy them myself._"_

_He felt her lips press against his cheek, and for a moment he caught a glimpse of her pale face before him. "_If that is what you wish, then I shall grant you life. I will be your guide, Ragnarok, and I will not let them cage you._"_

**

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**

The Mist began to clear, and although it still lingered around the chamber, Snow saw Balthier leaning against the inside corner of the cage. His half-lidded eyes stared ahead of him, and he was barely breathing. Snow helped Fran stand up, and Morgana smiled darkly when she met their shocked, speechless expressions.

And then, Lightning pushed past her commanding officers, pressing her hand up against the glass when she knelt down beside Balthier. She bit her lower lip as she stared at him in desperation, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes as she tried to reach him. Balthier dazedly turned his head toward her, and in a moment of weakness he moved his hand against the glass wall, touching where she held her hand. For a moment, though it seemed eternal, the two gazed unphased at each other, as if nothing was between them. Balthier's hand slid limply down the glass, and his eyes closed themselves when his head fell against his shoulder. Hanging her head low, Lightning choked out a sob and clenched her fist.

"And so he has fallen," Morgana said, looking to her soldiers. "Make haste. Soon the beast will arise."

Lightning looked up, and just as the soldiers moved toward her and Balthier, she unsheathed her gunblade and slammed it against the cage. Shattered glass flew in all directions, and Balthier's languid body tumbled out and fell at her feet. She tossed her weapon aside and held him in an upright sitting position, resting her forehead against his neck.

"He is gone," Cid said. "All that remains is Ragnarok."

"Ragnarok wasn't the monster you all thought," Lightning snapped, though her voice was quiet. "All it ever wanted...was a chance to feel _human_."

When she moved Balthier so that he was laying down on the floor, he suddenly coughed. He rolled over onto his side, groaning when he pressed a hand to his forehead. Lightning's eyes widened, but she remained silent.

"Damn Mist," the sky pirate choked out, shakily sitting up. "Always ruins my day, doesn't it?"

"What?" Morgana shouted, "Impossible! That Mist...It was meant to bring the beast forth!"

Balthier ignored her and took Lightning's hands in his own, his gaze not leaving her appalled expression. Snow, for once, was speechless, and Fran was on edge as she glanced between them all. Lightning touched a hand to Balthier's cheek, attempting to find the right words to say.

"Are you real?" she asked in a whisper. "You were...gone."

He nodded. "The leading man never dies, remember? Wouldn't be a happy ending if he didn't survive," he answered.

She faintly smiled, and just when she moved closer to him, she winced at the sound of a loud bang. Blood splattered the front of Balthier's blouse, and he felt the bullet go through his shoulder, but the pain no longer had an effect on him. Lightning's lips weakly quivered when she looked up at him, and she whispered a quick "sorry" before she fell into his arms. That was when he saw Morgana aiming her still smoking rifle at the two of them.

"Light," Balthier said hastily, touching her face as he looked down at her. "Stay with me, Lightning. You can't...You can't let yourself fall..." She closed her eyes, and her head fell back against his arm. "No! Lightning! Stay here, with me!" he yelled, "Light! _Claire_!"

Snow felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end when he heard the sudden change in Balthier's voice. Morgana raised her hands to stop her soldiers from moving forward, and she narrowed her eyes when she saw the sky pirate slowly look upon them. She smiled the moment his eyes had turned red, and he clutched Lightning's feeble body close to his chest. Snow took a step back, a hand reaching for his pocket. His voice was nearly silent when he finally spoke the name.

"Ragnarok!"

**

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_:(_


	12. Unleashed

**Author's Note:** _I wish there were more Balthier/Lightning fans in the world. I've found a few videos on YouTube of the pairing, and I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who draws things of them...But, please, Squeenix, put Balthier in Dissidia 012. I need an excuse to make this pairing official. :D_

_I'm sad, __**The Giant Daifuku**__. This story is almost doneeee...Dx Let us cry together!_

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**2** 4

Chapter Twelve

Unleashed

_To them, we were just pets. Without a master to follow, our lives had no purpose._

Balthier gently laid Lightning's body on the floor, the bullet hole in her chest clearly visible, and as soon as he was standing up straight his eyes flashed in Morgana's direction. She lowered her rifle and took a step forward, but just as she moved, Snow stood in her way. The two of them stared at each other, glaring, but the man refused to move from the spot.

"You dare protect that beast?" Morgana asked, arching an eyebrow. "The monster that tore your entire _life_ apart? You are a fool, Snow Villiers. A hero, you call yourself? A coward. _Traitor_."

Fran had slowly made her way toward Balthier and Lightning, though she was still weary of her partner. No one knew if he was aware of what was going on, having willingly let the beast control him. He remained crouched over Lightning's still form, as if to protect her from anyone or any_thing_. When Fran took a step toward him, he bore his sharp teeth at her, warning her to stay back.

"I don't care if you're a god, or whatever, Lindzei," Snow answered, "but Balthier's still himself, even if he's...not exactly there. Ragnarok didn't help the insane emperor back in Ivalice, so I doubt it'll help _you_. You're just a god pretending to be a human."

Morgana smiled sarcastically. "Hm. When Ragnarok refused to come forth at the death of the sky pirate, I killed the one person he loved. And, what do you believe will happen when I choose..." She held the rifle with one hand and aimed it directly at Fran, who stood only a few feet away from Balthier. "..._her_? Will Ragnarok lose himself completely, drunk on the fear of losing yet another friend?"

Something flashed past them, and Snow had to close his eyes when he heard the sickening sound of bones cracking. Balthier was behind the female general, a hand plunged through her chest and covered with her blood. As soon as he pulled his hand out of her, Morgana collapsed onto her knees before Snow, and she looked up at him with wide eyes.

"_You_," she hissed, though her lips did not move, "_must be the one to end Ragnarok. It was bestowed on you to destroy the Divine, and no one else must stop you._"

Balthier grabbed her neck and twisted it in one swift motion, and she fell to the side; lost to the darkness. Cid gasped at his companion's mangled form, and he held his dual blades with shaky hands toward the other two men. The soldiers behind him were too frightened to know what to do; they weren't trained to deal with the gods and their so-called pets.

"Monster," Cid choked out. "Lindzei was right - you're naught more than a mindless _murderer_!" He moved to strike them down, but the moment he lowered his defensive something shot through him and he fell forward. Mist engulfed him entirely, and he screamed out in agony when his eyes suddenly began to burn in flames.

"Easy," Snow murmured to Balthier, who had started to growl quietly, getting ready to kill. Fran was kneeling beside Lightning, though when she met Snow's eyes, she shook her head. There was nothing that could be done for the woman, nothing that would bring her back. It seemed the same way for Balthier, too.

"My Focus...must be completed!" Cid's hands began to morph into claws, and Snow remembered what had happened to Raines when he defied his Focus two years ago. "I...cannot let you live on, Ragnarok!"

The Oerban man transformed into a Cie'th right before their eyes, and Snow didn't even have the chance to move when its large claw slammed into him, knocking him onto the floor. Balthier started to lunge for the creature, but Fran rushed to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. Even when he tried to bite at her, she kept ahold of him; she closed her eyes and leaned into the crook of his neck, whispering to him in vieran.

The soldiers didn't waste any time in attacking the Cie'th, even though it was once a man they loyally followed. Snow stumbled to his feet, slightly stunned from hitting his head, but as soon as he saw Fran holding Balthier back, he quickly regained his composure.

The viera moved away from her partner when she saw Snow approaching them with the tear-drop crystal in hand. Balthier noticed it, and he took a step back.

"Balthier, remember that promise I made to you, way back when?" the blond asked, edging toward the enraged sky pirate. "I promised that I'd get you home no matter what. This might be a different situation, but I don't break my promises. I _will_ help you, even if you don't want me to. We're the heroes, remember? And we heroes have to stay together. So just this once, let me save you!"

He forced the crystal into Balthier's chest, and a silver light erupted between them. Snow was pushed back by a gust of magick, and Fran grabbed him before he could hit the floor again. Balthier was on his knees, clutching a hand to the crystal embedded in him, and he struggled against the urge to scream. Bones protruded from his face and hands, and in another burst of light, Ragnarok appeared from the Mist when the sky pirate collapsed to the floor.

Balthier could only stare into the eyes of the beast he had been a part of for nearly three years, unable to move; to breathe. Ragnarok leered in on him, its blood red eyes studying his frightened look. Neither of them moved, until Snow spoke up.

"Hey, Ragnarok!" he yelled, grinning. "I'm the one you're looking for, aren't I? Time to end this!"

The beast growled, lunging toward the blond as soon as Balthier weakly stood up. Fran went to him, wrapping a tender arm around his shoulders to help him stand. But he only stared blankly ahead of him, where Lightning laid on the floor.

"Light," he murmured, and ignoring Fran's worried eyes upon him, he briskly walked to the fallen woman and got down on his knees beside her.

**

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**

He found himself kneeling in a field of flowers, holding Lightning in his arms as he looked around the unknown world. There was a waterfall in the distance, but it was nowhere to be seen through the fog surrounding the field. Balthier looked down at Lightning and ran his hand through her hair. Either he had died after being separated from Ragnarok and he was in heaven, or he was simply dreaming. He almost hoped for the first.

"_You are free._"

The voice - he had heard it once before. On the _Bahamut_, it told him what he needed to do in order to rid himself of Ragnarok. But was all he had done truly worth it? He had lost so much; Serah, Lightning...They were gone because of him.

"_Do not doubt yourself. You did all you could, and now all that remains is a new dawn._"

"If you're a god," he said, "then why can't you show yourself? All this madness about hearing voices...It's no wonder my father lost himself because of you higher powered beings."

There was a gathering of Mist before him, and a woman walked out as soon as it faded. She looked familiar; pale hair, dim blue eyes...He almost would have mistaken her for Lightning if he didn't know that she was already gone.

She spoke like the fal'Cie; through her mind, and not her lips. "_Does this form suit your wish?_" she asked, smiling gently. "_I have no true form. I am not like the fal'Cie, or their brethren._"

"Etro," Balthier muttered. "The goddess who stopped Ragnarok all those years ago. The one Lindzei spoke of."

"_I must thank you. Though it was through your distress, Lindzei is now lost as he was before. No longer shall he intervene with Gran Pulse's life. No longer shall Cocoon be cast aside by his desires._"

"And so, that's that? Can't say I'm pleased with this outcome. Tell me, what will become of our worlds? Of Ragnarok?"

"_Ragnarok's fate is unknown to me,_" Etro answered, as she knelt down in front of Balthier. "_His destroyer will face him, now, and we shall see. Your fate, however, is known._"

He shook his head. "And I do not wish to know it. I would rather live the rest of my days without worrying about what destiny has in store for me. I've had enough of that, lately."

"_Then what may I grant you? You have done so much, given up all you love._" She reached out and touched his cheek. "_Your heart is clouded with fear, broken by the past._"

Balthier turned his eyes downward, and he found himself staring at Lightning's peaceful persona once again.

"_She is not lost. Should you choose it, I will return her to you._"

"No one can bring back the dead," he answered.

Etro smiled faintly. "_For you, I will. Though she will be alive, she will be among the dead. Her heart will not be whole, but her soul, her anima...It will remain._"

"An undead?"

"_Do not worry. I will protect her. She will not become like those undead in your realm._ _This, I promise you._"

"Then I hope you're just as good at keeping promises as a certain someone I know."

The goddess placed her hands on Lightning's chest, where her heart was, and closed her eyes. Just as Etro disappeared, and the dream realm faded from sight, Lightning opened her eyes.

**

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**

Snow skidded to the side when the Cie'th leapt toward him, and he caught a glimpse of Ragnarok sprinting toward them both before ducking down. Fran cast a protective spell upon him, and then she fired the fomalhaut twice at deformed Cie'th. The soldiers had tried their best to aid them in battle, but they couldn't withstand the wrath of their enemies.

Balthier had lost consciousness due to his weakness after being separated from Ragnarok, but the beast showed no signs of faltering when it slaughtered the Cie'th. Whatever thirst for revenge it held for the gods had fueled its strength. Snow just hoped that he and Fran weren't next on its killing list.

The Cie'th creature fell, and everything seemed silent afterward. Ragnarok turned its gaze toward he and Fran, looking between them as if it didn't know who they were. Had it seen them when it was still a part of Balthier? Did it feel the same things as he did? Ragnarok narrowed its dark eyes, facing them completely as Snow took a hesitant step backward.

"Nice beastie," he breathed. "You'll be making things easier for me if you just stay there like that, all right? I'm getting a little bit tired of dealing with you, Ragnarok."

Fran shot him a concerned look, but he only grinned at her, giving her a confident thumbs up.

"I've got it under control, bunny-girl! Don't need to worry about me!"

Suddenly Ragnarok charged toward them, and Snow stepped forward in time to hold it back. It bit down onto his shoulder, but he pushed it off of him when Fran fired another shot. But when he looked toward her, she didn't have her gun aimed at him, or the beast.

"Need a hand, hero?" Balthier asked, smirking. Snow's eyes widened when he saw the one who had shot Ragnarok standing at his side, one hand resting on the sky pirate's shoulder and the other holding her gunblade at the beast.

"Lightning!"

She raised an eyebrow at him, and she walked forward without saying a single word. Balthier stood by Fran, taking the fomalhaut from her, and he only shrugged his shoulders when Snow gave him a questioning look.

"A story for another time," was all he said.

Lightning handed her gunblade to Snow, glancing toward Ragnarok only once. "It has to end," she told him. "There's no turning back now, hero."

"I got it," he answered, getting a feeling of _deja vu_. "Save the day, get the girl, the usual, right?" He half-laughed. "I'm kidding. Time for the 'Destroyer of Ragnarok' to get the job done."

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_Yes, this chapter is kinda short. The next chapter, and the epilogue, will be just as short, if not shorter. And, did anyone notice Balthier broke the fourth wall again? Silly sky pirate. ;D  
_

_I need to get my homework done now (Yup, fan fiction comes first for me!). -_- Procrastination kills, kiddies._


	13. End of All Things

**Author's Note:** _Can you believe that about two months ago, I started this series with only a plan to write two stories? Wow. That's changed...A LOT. ;)_

_My thanks goes to __**The Giant Daifuku**__, and my newest reviewer,_ _**HopelessRomanticist**__!_

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Chapter Thirteen

End of All Things

_And there we were...At the end. But, I wasn't too sure if I was ready for this dream to end. At least, not so soon._

Ragnarok leaped toward Snow with its teeth gleaming in the dim light from the sky, preparing to kill him, but Balthier stepped in front of him at the last second. The beast tackled him to the floor, pining him down by the arms. Lightning attempted to push past the other two in order to help him, but Fran stopped her. Ragnarok was staring down at Balthier's some-what surprised face, neither making any movements.

"Ah, afraid to hurt the one who was once your vessel, Ragnarok?" Balthier asked, smirking. "I had no idea that the gods had feelings like we humes, but then again, you're naught more than a beast."

Ragnarok narrowed its dark eyes, almost as if it were scowling at him. In a flicker of light, Balthier's eyes widened when he found himself staring at the face of a male hume; almost a mirror image of himself. The man had narrowed his crimson eyes, like Ragnarok, and shook his head the slightest bit. _No_.

Ragnarok jumped off of him all of the sudden, landing on its feet near the large window above their heads, and then it launched itself through the glass onto the higher level of the air ship. Snow was the first to give chase, Lightning following him soon after, but Balthier seemed reluctant to go after them. Fran tenderly touched his shoulder.

"It would seem that there's more to this god than we understand, Fran," he murmured, his voice sounding lost. "I could have sworn...that I saw a hume face, staring right back at me."

"Hush," she told him. "You need not worry any longer for Ragnarok. We all must learn to cast the past aside."

He didn't meet her eyes, and instead he started to run after Snow and Lightning. He could hear her chasing after him, but something kept telling him that if they allowed Snow to do his 'job' and kill Ragnarok, then they would be allowing the death of another hume to take place. Normally he wouldn't let a sudden revelation get the best of him, yet it still didn't feel right to end the life of another - despite what the beast had done in the past.

It seemed that Lightning had the same idea. When he and Fran reached the upper deck of the _Palamecia_, Snow had already cornered Ragnarok. It was backing away from him, glancing around, but for a while it seemed to only be watching Lightning. She, however, took a few steps backward so she was standing with the two sky pirates. Balthier held the fomalhaut at the ready, sighing weakly.

"Ice," he clearly said. "End it."

Snow nodded, and he held the gunblade above his head. Yelling out, he thrust the blade into Ragnarok and tightly shut his eyes when there was a burst of Mist. Balthier shielded his eyes from the light, and with his other hand, he grabbed Fran's shoulder and pushed her behind him; to block the magick from reaching her. Lightning winced when she heard the beast's cry, but she relaxed the moment she felt Balthier slid his hand into hers.

Finally, they could see Snow standing amongst the faint clouds of Mist. He dropped the gunblade, almost tossing it aside, and he quietly stood off to the side to reveal the beast's form.

Ragnarok began to fade with the Mist, and Lightning hesitantly edged toward it when she let go of Balthier's hand. She knelt down beside its translucent form, slowly moving a shaky hand closer to its face. Narrowed red eyes flickered between her hand and her face, but the beast made no movements to strike her. She touched its deformed face, rubbing her thumb against its rough skin and bringing them closer.

"I'm sorry," Lightning whispered. "Ragnarok. I'm sorry that it had to end this way. You...didn't deserve this kind of fate."

It closed its eyes, and just as it became a part of the Mist, she felt the gentlest of hands caressing her cheek. She stood up, watching the small clouds of fog float into the sky, and turned around to face the other three.

"Destroyer of worlds, huh," Snow murmured. "Didn't put up much of a fight."

Lightning could feel Balthier's eyes on her, but she turned back to the sky and closed her eyes.

It was finally over.

**

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The _Strahl_ was still in the docking bay, all ready to go. Lightning realized that she never had the chance to look at it up close, since she had been so focused on the Guardian Corps and destroying the 'other world's beings' to even think about more important things. She felt Balthier's warm hand on her shoulder, and she wasn't surprised to see that he was frowning.

"Time to go," Snow stated, looking up at the air ship with a nostalgic look in his eyes. "We might as well take advantage of all the Mist floating around, don't you think?"

"The magick will soon fade from the stone," Fran agreed. "We best leave before it's too late."

Lightning stared at Balthier, weakling furrowing her eyebrows. "You're leaving?" she asked. "To go back to Ivalice. Your home." He only forced himself to look away, unable to meet her gaze.

"I've got someone waiting for me back there," Snow answered, barely smiling. "I know that Serah doesn't want me to stay in Pulse and spend the rest of my life wallowing about her death. I'm the queen's knight in shining trench coat! Can't keep her waiting for too much longer, you know."

"It won't be the same without you. The rest of your NORA gang won't be very happy with you."

"Tell 'em that if they slack off the slightest bit, I'll come back to show 'em hell!"

She tried to smile. "Will do, hero."

Snow suddenly embraced her, and she closed her eyes at the feeling of his warmth against her cool skin. Reluctantly, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder, sighing quietly. He laughed faintly, shaking his head.

"Sis," he said, "you're so cold. Guess that's what happens when you're dead, huh?"

She only nodded, pressing her cheek against him even more. How did he know? When they parted, he gave her one last thumbs up before heading toward the _Strahl_ with Fran. The viera only tilted her head toward the other woman, one of her tall ears flicking against the wind. Her eyes drifted toward Balthier, who was holding the lightning-bolt necklace in his hand. He met Lightning's saddened eyes when he finally looked up, and he silently placed it around her neck, touching her cheek with a brush of his hand.

"The skies are waiting for me," he told her, casting his eyes downward. "And this world...There's no place for me here. I'm the outsider, remember? Ivalice needs her leading man, and t'is my duty to answer her call."

Balthier walked past her, his eyes focused on the air ship before him. Lightning closed her eyes, and quietly muttered after taking a short, but unneeded breath, "Thank you." He turned around when he stopped in mid-step, confusedly staring at the back of her head.

He looked down for a moment, and then he slowly walked up behind her and touched her shoulder. Lightning faced him, and he touched her cold cheek when their eyes regretfully met. He brought their lips together and kissed her, and she closed her eyes as she deepened the kiss. His lips felt so warm, so comforting...But he didn't have eternity. He couldn't stay with her, no matter how much both of them wanted. That was why he had to leave.

They parted, and Balthier gently pressed his lips to her forehead. She could feel his warmth linger on her skin, even after she heard his quiet foot steps grow fainter and fainter. She opened her eyes to the _Strahl_ soaring into the sky, disappearing in a dim flash of light.

_Good-bye._

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_The epilogue is next. :(_


	14. Epilogue: Reunion

**Author's Note:** _And here we are, the last chapter of __**24**__. I swear, I was channeling FF10-2. Darn you, happy endings...I'm really not used to writing so much...Gah. Happy. ANYWHOO. To the conclusion of this story!_

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Epilogue

Reunion

"Lightning, you've been standing there for a while, and you haven't even said a word to me, yet."

She let out a weak laugh, turning around to face Hope. "Sorry," Lightning apologized. "I was spacing out again. Easy to do that in a place like this."

"It's been a while since you've been out here, hasn't it?" Hope asked, looking toward Cocoon. "You know, I think they're still watching out for us. They've kept their promise, haven't they?"

"Yeah, they have." She frowned, walking back into the forest. "Wish I could've kept mine..."

A year had passed by since Ragnarok's fall, but to Lightning it felt so much longer. Days felt like weeks to her, months like years...Time for her was passing by so slowly, but for the others it seemed to be quicker. Hope was almost eighteen years old, and he was just as tall as her already. She didn't dare tell Sazh that he was getting older - the man hated it.

As for her, she didn't age at all. Being 'blessed' with eternal life, her body showed no changes as the days went on. No one seemed to notice, but perhaps that was because of the fact that she had quit the Guardian Corps and had decided to live out the rest of her days as a normal Pulse citizen. Well, almost normal.

She wasn't sure how she ended up admitting the truth to Sazh and Hope - their idea of an undead was a crystallized l'Cie, or a monstrous Cie'th; and she obviously wasn't either of those. They understood, eventually, but for some reason she wished that she hadn't told them in the first place. Someday, she would be forced to watch them die, and she would forever remain unchanged.

"Hey, Light," Hope said, pointing to something in the bushes. "What's that over there?"

Lightning saw the small glint of light under the trees, and she cautiously bent down to look at it more closely. It was a crystal shaped like a rose; she immediately was reminded her the crystal she used as a l'Cie to summon Odin. But, what was it?

"Isn't that your crystal?" Hope asked, peering over her shoulder. "Looks a lot like it."

When she reached down and touched it, something flashed through her mind. A memory of long ago, of someone she had cherished, but allowed to leave her behind.

**

* * *

**

_Balthier was standing at the end of the dock at Oerba Village, watching the sun set over the water. He didn't seem to hear her approaching him, or perhaps he did know, but chose to remain silent. Lightning bit her lower lip, almost worried that she would say something to offend him; he had just found out the truth about his existence in Cocoon, and how he had ended up there in the first place. She didn't want to upset him even more._

_She took a deep breath, and then asked quietly, "_Are you all right?_"_

_He stretched out his arms and yawned - he was pretending, of course. "_For the most part,_" he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "_I'm awfully tired, however._"_

_Rolling her eyes, Lightning walked up beside him and rested her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at him. "_After all that happened, all you can say is that 'you're tired'? You're handling things well._"_

_"_Are you so sure that I am? I'm no l'Cie, but I was still able to summon a creature like the rest of you. Tell me: why?_"_

_"_Your guess is as good as mine, Balthier. The fal'Cie must have something planned for you, or maybe it's all because of your Occurian-gods._" She sighed, rubbing her temple and lookng into the water below._ "I don't know what to believe anymore. Dysley said that you're...nothing but his puppet, while the Occuria told us that you were the one to turn into Ragnarok and destroy Orphan. They're essentially the same thing - in the end._" Lightning frowned._ _"_And what about what happened to you, back in your world? If you were to return there...What would happen to you? You'd be dead._"_

_Balthier got down on his knees, running a hand through the seemingly cold water under the dock. She watched him carefully._

"Do you_," she paused, closing her eyes, "_do you want go back there, Balthier?_"_

_"_It's my home, is it not? I would rather die there than somewhere I don't belong_," he replied, laughing for some reason. "_Though, I suppose that's already happened to me once. I have always believed that Ivalice was the only world in existence. To think, I've been wrong this whole time. There's Cocoon, Gran Pulse...Who knows, maybe there's another world above mine._"_

_"_Could you tell me about it? About Ivalice?_"_

_He almost smiled. "_What's there to tell? You have Rozarria, the land of odious royalty and selfish men. Dalmasca, the land of endless deserts. Landis, the fallen city. And Archadia, the land of war-hungry fiends - where I'm from._"_ _He sighed, staring down at their reflections in the water._ _"_Ivalice was once a peaceful place, but then the war came. And soon, all were pitted against friend and foe alike in the arena. I left Archadia, and joined Dalmasca in its efforts to stop the war. Unfortunately, that's where I met my apparent demise._" He scoffed._ _"_If only I could remember their faces...There were two orphans, a fallen knight, a princess, and my partner, Fran. But when I try to remember, their faces are like our reflection now. A mystery._"_

_Lightning bent down behind him, hesitantly resting her hand on his shoulder. She leaned close to his face, almost pressing her cheek against his hair. "_If you look close enough, the reflections are clear. See?_" She attempted at a genuine smile. "_All you need to do is look harder._"_

_Balthier turned his head and faced her, and soon the scene switched to where they stood with the other l'Cie in Orphan's Cradle. Lightning had stopped walking once they reached the platform, and she turned around to face the others' determined expressions. She only wished she could be just as brave as they._

_"_Ready? There's no turning back,_" she reminded them, and then she turned to face a grinning Snow. "_Moment of truth, hero._"_

_He nodded. "_I got it,_" Snow answered, and he looked toward Balthier, who was standing at his side. "_Got any last minute speeches to get us all ready to go, leading man?_"_

_The sky pirate had his eyes focused on only Lightning. The fiery look in his eyes make her heart pound in her chest. "_I can think of one thing,_" he murmured, and then he walked right over to her._

_Her heart was racing when he placed one hand on her chin, tilting her head up so that they were staring into each others eyes. She closed her eyes the moment his lips touched hers, taking in his warmth and fire within. Snow had muttered something under his breath, but she didn't care about what he had to say. As far as they were concerned, it seemed as if it were only she and Balthier, and they weren't forced to succumb to a fate neither of them wanted. They were together, in a time when they wouldn't be lost in destiny._

_When they parted, Balthier was smirking. He took her hand in his own, kissed it, and then murmured, "_Been waiting a while to do that._" He turned around without another word, let go of her hand, and jumped off the edge of the platform. She closed her eyes for a moment, and allowed herself to follow._

**

* * *

**

"Light? You okay?"

She opened her eyes, staring at the crystal in her hands with a confused look in her eyes. Hope touched her shoulder worriedly, but she shook her head. "I'm fine," she told him. "It's just that...I think I remember it all now. Everything about..._him_. It came back to me."

"What? Really?" He grinned. "That's great!"

She only nodded. The year before, Snow had tried to jumpstart her memories with a stone called auracite, but it didn't work. But why would the rose crystal do what the other couldn't? Unless it was because it was so similar to her l'Cie stone. Or, perhaps... "Hope," she finally said, "this crystal is auracite. The same thing the others used to get to this world, and what they used to return to..."

"Ivalice?"

"Yeah." She frowned. "Ivalice..."

Hope folded his arms across his chest, staring at the crystal in her hands. He then looked at her face and stated, "Let's go visit Sazh. I've gotta ask him something."

**

* * *

**

The older man was busy fixing up his air ship, the _Hero_ (a name chosen by the three of them, after the two men who had left their mark in their lives), when they found him. The moment Sazh saw the rose shaped crystal, he automatically assumed the worst. It wasn't until Hope said something to him in a low voice that he calmed down. Lightning, however, didn't understand what was going on.

"So that stone," Sazh said, thinking out loud, "auracite, or whatever, is the same thing Snow and the other two used to get back to Iva-whatever-place?"

"And it's what got rid of Ragnarok," Hope finished, then shot an apologetic glance toward Lightning. It was still a sore subject for her, even after such a long time. "Do you think you can help us out?"

She stared at them. "What?"

"I can't guarantee anything, but the _Hero_ here should be able to get her where she wants to go," Sazh answered, patting the door of the air ship. "Been waiting to try it out, anyway. A trip to a whole 'nother world shouldn't be too hard."

"Hey, if Snow could fly an air ship here, then Lightning shouldn't have any problems," Hope retorted, grinning.

"What are you two going on about?" she asked, resting a hand on her hip. "This auracite isn't going to do a thing without Mist. So don't even _think_ that I'm-"

"-going back to your sky pirate?" Sazh was smirking. "That's the plan. Done deal, ain't nothing you can do about it, pinky."

Lightning scowled. "I gave up all my chances of being with him when I let him go back to his world. I have eternity to live - he doesn't." She rubbed her temple, already frustrated. "Look, I can't leave Pulse. This world is my home, even if I don't really belong here. I just...can't leave."

Hope clasped a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, Light," he said. "Are you going to let something so tiny get in the way of what you want? The Lightning I know doesn't give a damn about the gods and all they've done. You used to always follow what you heart told you, remember?"

"My heart isn't there anymore."

"Dammit, woman." Sazh rolled his eyes. "Either you're gonna willingly go to the guy you're head over heels for, or we're gonna force you to go."

"It's _complicated_," she snapped. "I'm undead, he's not. He'll die, I won't. If I went there and spent the rest of his life with him, what am I going to do when he's gone?"

Hope shrugged his shoulders. "Knowing Balthier, he's already found some way to be immortal." He sighed. "Look, Light, whatever you're trying to hide from yourself, forget about it. So what if you're the slightest bit undead? Balthier did something heroic to save you, so shouldn't you go to him and spend as much time with him as you can?

She turned her eyes downward, to the crystal she held. It was left behind for a reason, she knew it.

"So, come on. Isn't it about time to get the show on the road?"

**

* * *

**

The auracite fit easily into the engine of the small air ship, and it seemed that things were just falling into place. Hope and Sazh were more than willing to help her travel to Ivalice, and she began to wonder if a certain _someone_ had purposely left the crystal behind for her to find. But, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong; something bad could happen.

The _Hero_ wasn't strong like the _Palamecia_ or the _Strahl_, and the overexposure to Mist could completely destroy the pitiful thing in flight. Granted, Lightning would just heal herself over time, but the damage to the air ship wouldn't be so easily fixed. And the auracite - well, she could cross that off her list.

"Now, you gotta be careful when flying my girl," Sazh told her when she sat down in the pilot's seat. "Don't be too hard on her, you hear? She can't take too much pressure."

"Like her old man?" Lightning asked, cracking a reluctant smile.

"Yeah, just like - hey, wait a minute!"

She tilted her head to the side, to where Hope stood with sudden tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "Hope," she said, standing up from the seat. "This doesn't have to be good-bye, you know that. There's probably more auracite in Ivalice, or at least something that will get me back here. I won't be there forever." Or rather, she'd be there until they day Balthier died. She hoped that wouldn't be for a long, long time.

"No, it's not that," he told her, rubbing his eyes. "It's hard to realize how everything has changed. Snow's off saving another world, Serah's gone, Balthier's finally back to normal, and now you're...you're leaving us."

"I'll come back, I promise." She wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek against his hair. "Tears are for kids, and you're not a kid anymore. Almost four years - you've changed, too." They parted, and Lightning gently hit his chin with her fist. "So, be strong. Someone has to keep an eye on things for me."

Hope grinned. "Got it."

**

* * *

**

After awkwardly saying good-bye to Sazh ("What? No hug for me? Dammit, woman, we save the world together, and I don't even get a hug? Sheesh. Unappreciated, indeed."), Lightning started the _Hero's_ engines and took a deep breath. She remembered overhearing Snow and Balthier mention how they had to fly the _Strahl_ into a 'Mist infected' area, but there weren't any areas like that in Pulse. Or, were there? Her eyes drifted toward Cocoon's crystallized form beyond the buildings.

"Worth a shot," she muttered under her breath. She steered the air ship into the sky, the houses below becoming nothing more than specks on a map, and she resisted the urge to close her eyes as Cocoon drew near.

_"It's easy to lose sight of things in a world as wide as this one...But if you keep going, you're sure to find what you're looking for - sooner or later."_

Lightning shut her eyes the instant she felt the Mist surge around the air ship, and for a moment she thought there were a pair of arms lifting her away from her world.

**

* * *

**

"Hey, lady! You all right?"

"Oh, be nice, Vaan! You don't greet someone like that!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Penelo."

Vaan? Penelo? Forcing her eyes open, Lightning was greeted by the two grinning faces of the young orphans, Vaan and Penelo. The desert sun was blazing behind them, and somewhere in the distance she could see the remains of Sazh's air ship. Well, she _did_ want to warn him about that...

When she sat up from the sand, she noticed how bare her legs felt. Though she still wore her skin-tight brown shorts, there was only a silver cloth covering the left side of her hip. Her crimson cape fell upon her back, and a metal chest plate covered the front of her torso. She was glad to find that her necklace was still there, but the two orphans couldn't take their eyes off of it.

Penelo spoke first. "Oh my god, it's her!" she exclaimed, nudging her companion in the side. "Vaan, it's really her! It's Lightning, don't you see?"

"I'm not blind, 'Nelo! She's got the necklace that Balthier used to wear." Vaan was still grinning. "What're you doing here, Lightning? I thought Balthier said that you didn't remember him at all, and that was why you didn't come with him."

"It's kind of complicated," she answered, shrugging her shoulders. Hadn't she said that before? "I came here on a whim, so I didn't plan things through. This was just really...unexpected."

"I'm sure Balthier and Fran will know what to do. Maybe if we leave now, we can catch up to them." Penelo pouted slightly, thinking. "Didn't they mention that they'd be in the Phon Coast for a while? After finding the Cache, you'd think they'd be taking a break or something, right?"

Cache? Lightning seemed to remember the so-called Cache of Glabados was what brought Balthier back to her in the first place. Why did he go after it again? Unless...Time had started over again, just like he'd said when it did it before.

Vaan nodded. "What are we waiting for? I'm sure Ashe will let us borrow an air ship since..." He looked over at the remnants of the _Hero_. "Since Lightning's ship ended up like ours. We need to remind Balthier that he owes us a new ship, too!"

Penelo helped Lightning to her feet, not noticing the cold feeling of her skin. That was when Lightning saw a towering air ship outside the city of Rabanastre. What had Snow called it, again? "The _Bahamut_," she murmured. She hadn't felt it before, but knowing that she was in a completely new world frightened her - to be honest. Now she understood why Balthier had been so on edge the entire time he was in Cocoon and Pulse. So much was the same between their worlds. A monument of a tragic, yet new dawn...

She looked at the two orphans, raising an eyebrow at their excited expressions. "Something the matter?" she asked.

Penelo only giggled, and Vaan decided to change the subject all together. "Let's go find an air ship," he said, "and get you back to him, all right?"

"Look, I'm not really ready to fly an air ship after what happened to my last one, kid."

"No worries! 'Nelo and I are sky pirates now. We'll take care of you!"

Lightning couldn't stop herself from smiling.

**

* * *

**

Balthier wiped the sweat from his brow as soon as he rested the fomalhaut on his shoulder. The waves crashed against his feet, and he turned toward Fran with a shrug and a sigh. She only returned his gaze, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Well, I suppose today's job is done," he stated. "Wouldn't you agree, Fran?"

Something caught her eye behind him, and her upper lip quirked into a smile. "This day is far from over," she replied.

The roaring of an air ship's engines filled his ears, and Balthier turned around in time to see a Dalmascan ship heading directly toward them. The cargo hold's door opened before the ship could even land in the water, and someone jumped down with a sudden splash. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun and to focus on the woman's face.

Lightning was running toward him through the weak waves, smiling more than she ever had before. She didn't seem to mind that her clothes were soaked, and he caught a glimpse of Vaan and Penelo smiling confidently at them from the ship. Seeing the rare shine in Lightning's eyes when their eyes found each other, Balthier let the fomalhaut drop from his hand and held out his arms to greet her.

**

* * *

**

_Longest epilogue ever. xD Why is it that Balthier only gets a short cameo in the ending to all my epilogues, too?_

_Yaaay, another story done. And, as you may have guessed...__Sequel time__! :D The next story in this series will be called __**Revenant**__, and it will take place during Revenant Wings. Lightning will be the main focus of the story, since she needed a chance to redeem herself from being such a meanie in this story._

_My everlasting thanks goes to my darling reviewers: __**The Giant Daifuku**__, __**Joshua Chung**__ and __**HopelessRomanticist**__. You guys are awesome, and I totally love you. I really hope I'm not annoying you with this seemingly endless storyline, but trust me. Two more stories, and then we're done. :o_

_I'll be adding a preview for the next story soon, but I'll be taking a quick break to catch up on school work and stuff. But, in my free time, I'll be writing out a short series of drabbles and scenes that were cut out from __**So Starstruck**__ and __**Bad Bromance**__. Be sure to watch for those!_

_Until next time, adieu!_

_-Cherri._


	15. Sequel Preview

**Author's Note:** _As promised, here's the preview for the next story, __**Revenant**__. And, woot, here's a summary, too!_

**Revenant** (Balthier&Lightning): Lightning had thought that things would turn out well once she arrived in Ivalice, but when she ends up mixed with a band of sky pirates and a mad god seeking the Eternal, she realizes nothing will be the same. Sequel to 24.

_Unlike the other three stories, Revenant will have a more humorous side to it. Yes, there will be some drama (a lot?), but I'm deciding to write a more light-hearted story, since the others were so...angsty. :D You can just tell from this preview that I enjoy having Lightning beat up Balthier. :P_

**

* * *

**

"Good of you to join us."

Balthier was casually leaning against the controls of the _Galbana_, his arms folded across his chest and his lips pulled into a tight smirk. His viera partner was standing close to him, though her one of her ears twitched when she heard Lightning's pace quicken apart from Vaan and Penelo as the three approached them.

Gritting her teeth together, Lightning clenched her fist and punched Balthier right in the face, knocking him down onto the floor. He stared at her with a wide eyes, though even through her fury she could see that he was trying to hide his amusement. Penelo gasped and tried to get in between them, but Fran stepped in front of her and shook her head, remaining silent.

"I've had it with you!" Lightning snapped, leering down on him. "You could have told me what you were planning! Using the auralith and its magicite to bring me back to life...Who do you think you are, making all of us think you'd turned against us?"

He sighed heavily, rubbing his cheek as he slowly stood up. "And you're supposed to be my leading lady," he murmured. She moved to hit him again, but that time he grabbed her hand before she could. The two of them stared at each other in silence, until Lightning pulled away from him and stood back with the two younger sky pirates.

Penelo frowned. "Why don't we get everything out in the open," she said, "to clear the air? No more secrets."

Fran, however, shook her head. "I think not."

There was a sudden crash outside the ship, and everyone turned to see Tomaj and Nono running up the stairs. Both bore a look of anxiousness on their faces.

"We're under attack!" the young man exclaimed. "The _Galbana's_ surrounded!"

Lightning scowled, purposely walking ahead of Balthier, and followed Vaan and Penelo off the air ship. Balthier sighed again, fixing his cuffs and then walking after them with Fran in tow.

**

* * *

**

_I'll admit, I love Revenant Wings. I thought that I'd hate it because Vaan and the random street rats were the main characters, but they're not so bad after a while. Balthier is such a meanie-face in that game, however. And, naturally, Lightning wouldn't be too happy with him for being so secretive. ;D_

_As I mentioned before, I'll be taking a short break before starting this story, but I'll be posting random scenes that were cut from the other stories whenever I have some free time. And, trust me, you'll want to read them. xD The first one I'll be posting is the Eruyt Village part from FF12._

_Until then~_


End file.
